As the United State healthcare system continues to evolve from a reimbursement system based on volume to one based on value, understanding the relationship between physician quality metrics such as patient satisfaction and clinical quality metrics is extremely important. In order to improve value by effectuating behavior change, physician financial incentives must be designed based on desired outcomes. Understanding the relationship between performance indicators and aligning incentives is integral to successfully incentivizing physician behavior change. This study assessed the relationship between patient satisfaction and clinical quality in an ambulatory setting and determined that they are separate domains, but certain types of clinical quality are identifiable by patients and thus impact satisfaction
