Patient Satisfaction Studies and the Monitoring of the Right to Health: Some Thoughts Based on a Review of the Literature

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The concept of patient satisfaction has a long history of controversy and debate. Yet it remains a topic ofscientific investigation. Little is known about its importance as a tool for monitoring the right to health. Anon-exhaustive review of scientific articles reported in Medline was done in order to better understand howpatient satisfaction can be investigated and what it indicates.Over time and years the concept of patient satisfaction shows an evolution towards complexity, while becomingmore operational. Indeed patient satisfaction studies have proved of value as a health indicator and allowed theimplementation of improvement strategies in the health sector based on “the voice of the patient”, thus becominga potential right to health indicator. However they do have limits, but we consider nevertheless that they are ofinterest as a health indicator and that they should be put as such on the public health agenda.