[Quality of psychiatric treatment. Determined by patient satisfaction]

Patient satisfaction with inpatient and outpatient psychiatric treatment in a community-oriented care organization was studied. The study included 155 psychiatric patients, who were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview one year following their first admission to a psychiatric hospital. The response rate was 65%. The patients were asked to evaluate the treatment provided during the first year following the first day of their admission. The level of satisfaction varied for different aspects of treatment. It was high with regard to global improvement, general satisfaction, and participation of relatives and low with regard to the quality of inpatient-care, extent of aftercare, coordination between services, information and influence on treatment. In the open-ended questions many patients expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of time available with the caregivers, especially the doctors. In general, satisfaction with specific areas of treatment was related to overall satisfaction.