Patient Satisfaction as a Metric for Quality

Thirteen years ago when I received my Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, I felt that improving operational efficiency would enable me to do more in a day—and it did. But when patient satisfaction becomes the proxy for quality, sound business practice may not translate into sound clinical practice. After 21 years of practice, and deliberate attentiveness to patient feedback, I am increasingly aware that the Art of practice is as important as the Science—our Heart is as important as our Head. In this light, patient satisfaction is a very sound metric for quality.