[Patient survey in general practice: development, validation and application of a survey instrument]

Patient surveys are one of the most important sources for quality management in ambulatory care. The quality assurance of the survey instrument itself is of outstanding importance, since only a high-quality instrument is able to supply high-quality data, which can serve as a reliable basis for improvement strategies. The present paper outlines the process of development and optimisation of a survey instrument for patients' rating in all sectors of general practice and primary care on the basis of one of the largest surveys of this kind that have so far been conducted in German-speaking countries. The technique presented here of building quality dimensions of care out of single items has been methodologically validated. On the one hand it allows rapid identification of critical areas at a glance, and on the other hand helps to focus--if necessary--on single aspects in order to define detailed improvement actions.