[Patient satisfaction--artefact or social reality?]

The concept of patient satisfaction has become an independent evaluation criterion in the context of quality assurance. A review of patient satisfaction surveys referring to consumer satisfaction as a relevant health care concept, mostly being conducted in the USA, identifies numerous theoretical and methodological deficiencies. A consistently high level of patient satisfaction is reported, which is difficult to interpret. This requires critical analysis of what is meant by the term "satisfaction", considering theoretical concepts of satisfaction taken from various research areas. The paper concludes by pointing out that the concept "patient satisfaction" as it is used at present should not be seen as a valid indicator for the quality of care.