Patient experience and satisfaction with a healthcare system: connecting the dots

ABSTRACT

Patient experience and patient satisfaction, the two recognized indicators for assessing the quality of healthcare, are related, but distinct concepts. To what extent does patient experience account for variation in patient satisfaction with a healthcare system? Which aspects of patient experience relate most strongly to satisfaction with services? The purpose of this article is to provide a discussion about the concept of patient experience and its relationship with patient satisfaction. Recommendations are offered about how the relationship between these two concepts could be well investigated, and what aspects of care should have priority for action to improve quality for patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Patient experience
• patient satisfaction
• health services
• quality improvement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Emmanuel Kumah is a Health Services Administrator by profession. He holds Bachelor of Science qualification in Business Administration, as well as Master of Science in International Health Services and Hospital Management. He is currently a PhD candidate at Scuola Superiore Sant Anna of Pisa, Italy.