[Patient "satisfaction" in medical rehabilitation--a useful outcome indicator?]

Within the context of a five-part quality assurance programme for rehabilitation hospitals issued by the German Association of Statutory Pension Scheme Underwriters (Verband Deutscher Rentenversicherungsträger) we developed a multisectional questionnaire to assess patient satisfaction with rehabilitation measures. This questionnaire records the patients' perceptions and ratings of rehabilitation structures and processes as well as the results of then. The article describes basic positions, chances and risks of assessing this measure of satisfaction as well as the development of our questionnaire. The dimensions of patients satisfaction are based on the differentiation between various sectors of clinical output and capacity (Leistungsbereiche) und demands on medical service and capacity (Leistungsansprüche). The questionnaire includes rating and reporting questions. Since it will be complemented by a second part on health outcomes, this "research tool" will be used routinely to compare hospitals on the basis of an annual random sample (15%) of all rehabilitation patients.