Consider Clinical Quality, Patient Satisfaction Separately, Study Says

A new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine suggests that clinical quality and patient experience should be considered separately when evaluating healthcare quality.

The study, performed by researchers from the Cambridge Centre for Health Services' Institute for Public Health in England, examined the relationship between clinical quality and patient satisfaction and found that while there was a statistically significant correlation, associations between the measures were weak.

Patient-reported access to care and overall satisfaction were most closely associated with clinical quality. Clinical quality and interpersonal aspects of care were very weakly correlated in the study's data analysis.

The researchers suggest that clinical quality of care and patient experience may be less related than is reflected in current healthcare quality metrics.

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