Assessing Consumer Satisfaction From Letters to the Hospital

A private psychiatric hospital's evaluation research unit assessed consumer satisfaction with service by analyzing the content of letters written in response to an invitation to comment on the hospital experience. Respondents included relatives and referring agents of those who had received treatment. They expressed greatest satisfaction with the helpfulness of the hospital, general patient care, and the quality of the clinical staff. They expressed much dissatisfaction with communication, such as adequacy of information about patients' treatment and progress, and with management issues, such as efficiency, length of stay, and hospital rules and procedures. The analysis showed that the older the patient and the fewer the number of previous hospitalizations, the greater was the satisfaction expressed.