Patient satisfaction surveys as a market research tool for general practices.

BACKGROUND: Recent policy developments, embracing the notions of consumer choice, quality of care, and increased general practitioner control over practice budgets have resulted in a new competitive environment in primary care. General practitioners must now be more aware of how their patients feel about the services they receive, and patient satisfaction surveys can be an effective tool for general practices.

AIM: A survey was undertaken to investigate the use of a patient satisfaction survey and whether aspects of patient satisfaction varied according to sociodemographic characteristics such as age, sex, social class, housing tenure and length of time in education.

METHOD: A sample of 2173 adults living in Medway District Health Authority were surveyed by postal questionnaire in September 1991 in order to elicit their views on general practice services.

RESULTS: Levels of satisfaction varied with age, with younger people being consistently less satisfied with general practice services than older people. Women, those in social classes 1-3N, home owners and those who left school aged 17 years or older were more critical of primary care services than men, those in social classes 3M-5, tenants and those who left school before the age of 17 years.

CONCLUSION: Surveys and analyses of this kind, if conducted for a single practice, can form the basis of a marketing strategy aimed at optimizing list size, list composition, and service quality. Satisfaction surveys can be readily incorporated into medical audit and financial management.