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Patient expectations and satisfaction with medical care for upper respiratory infections

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Abstract

To describe the determinants of patients satisfaction with medical care, self-administered questionnaires were given to a consecutive sample of 237 patients coming to an ambulatory care practice for the treatment of upper respiratory infections (URIs). Patients’ most important goal was to obtain a diagnosis (57%). They usually got more reassurance, medication, and personal interest than they had expected (p=0.0001). In a multivariate model, patients’ satisfaction was related to the degrees of personal interest and reassurance they had received and to whether they felt they had received the right medication (r2=0.45, p=0.0001). The authors concluded that patients with URIs generally want a diagnosis but are primarily satisfied by the personal interest, the reassurance, and the medication they receive.

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Supported by fonds de perfectionnement de l’Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire de Genève.

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Sanchez-Menegay, C., Hudes, E.S. & Cummings, S.R. Patient expectations and satisfaction with medical care for upper respiratory infections. J Gen Intern Med 7, 432–434 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599162

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