Patient experience of health care performance

Abstract

Patient-centred care, a fundamental tenet of quality healthcare, means delivering services which respond to and are sensitive to the needs and wishes of the consumers or patients. Without systematic ways of collecting information about patients’ experience of the health care system, a vital perspective is missing from efforts to improve the quality of care. Submissions to the draft National Primary Health Care Strategy identified that consumer satisfaction, holistic care, equity of access, and obtaining feedback from users are some areas which are appropriate for performance management via indicators