To evaluate the impact of patient characteristics and method of data collection on satisfaction results used for the comparison
of practice locations, questionnaires were distributed to 1,208 adult outpatients at five medicine clinics, either onsite
or by mail. Patient dissatisfaction with three service domains was measured: communication with the provider, courtesy of
the office staff, and timeliness of care. Practice location, survey methodology, and patient characteristics were significant
predictors of dissatisfaction, and adjustment for the latter two factors affected the rankings of practices by dissatisfaction
rates for all three domains. Further study of the impact of patient characteristics and method of data collection should be
conducted before the comparison of unadjusted satisfaction results becomes the accepted standard.
Key words patient satisfaction - ambulatory care clinics - survey methodology - sociodemographics
Presented in part at the annual meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine, San Diego, Calif., May, 1995.
This work was supported by the Department of Quality Measurement and Improvement, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Mass.