Patient characteristics and quality dimensions related to patient satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relation of respondents' characteristics, and perceived quality dimensions of health care to overall patient satisfaction in out-patient hospital care. DESIGN A questionnaire concerning the perceived quality of health care sent to patients in out-patient medical care. SETTING All medical centres in Ostergötland County, Sweden, during a period in 2007. PARTICIPANTS Seven thousand two hundred and forty-five patients aged 20 or older responded to the survey and provided their own ratings of the care. Main outcome measure Global patient satisfaction as the overall rating of the encounter at the medical centre. The relation between respondent characteristics, quality dimensions and global satisfaction was examined using linear regression. RESULTS Younger patients in emergency care were the least satisfied group (54%) and older patients with excellent health status were the most satisfied group (90%). Patients with perceived better health status and those with less education were more satisfied than those with more education or poorer health status. The two dimensions most strongly positively associated with global satisfaction were receiving the expected medical help and being treated well by the doctor. To wait at the reception without getting information correlated negatively to patient satisfaction, and participation in the medical decision-making correlated positively. CONCLUSIONS By using a complete patient population, including all types of medical specialities, we have identified a set of common respondent characteristics and quality dimensions that are related to global satisfaction in out-patient hospital care.