Toward a Strategy for Quality Assurance: Satisfaction in the Utilization of Medical Care

To develop methodological tools to evaluate & ensure the quality of health care, the satisfaction of expectations is investigated via interview data from patients (N = 80), hospital directors (N = 16), & union representatives (N = 100) in metropolitan Guadalajara, Mexico. Attention was focused on the structure, process, & results of health care, through a democratic approach that allowed respondents considerable freedom of expression & inquired into individual, social, & job satisfaction, all conducive to the humanization of labor & thus quality of care. A literature review on satisfaction with public & private health care provision reveals various technical & interpersonal deficiencies. In this light, investigating the opinions of management, in addition to those of the patient & the medical personnel immediately involved in treatment, offers a useful alternative research strategy. 1 Figure, 15 References. Adapted from the source document.