[Hospital treatment: expectations and reality in the 19th century]

This paper explores the 19th-century evolution in patients' expectations from medical treatment in clinics and hospitals. Analysis rests on surveys of hospital functions and performance during this period, as well as surveys of patients' socio-economic background. The article reveals that the divergence between hospital treatment and patients' expectations was not as wide as has been assumed until recently. Limited knowledge about 19th century hospitals and clinics, and the contemporary conceptualization of hospitals as overwhelmingly efficient "health factories" account for this biased evaluation of the past.