When reports or ads say that most patients are satisfied with the care they receive, what is this based on? What are they satisfied with? The cost? The results?

You raise a good question. We all need to be more careful evaluating reports of this type. Patient satisfaction is usually measured by asking the patient various questions. It could be as simple as the question, "Overall, how satisfied are you with your care?" Or it can be a long survey with many questions about a lot of factors.

Most people won't take the time to fill out a long survey. The best way to really find out what patients think is a simple, easy series of questions. It should measure both internal and external factors. Internal measures ask about the patient's experience with the clinician. Did the doctor, nurse, or therapist answer your questions? Did the clinician treat you with respect? Was the treatment explained thoroughly?

External factors look at the clinic itself (location, noise, cleanliness). The cost of care is another external measure. Even a patient's interaction with the receptionist or billing agent can influence how satisfied he or she may have been. These kinds of things don't have any direct bearing on how well the treatment worked for the patient.