A comparative study of patient satisfaction with health care in Japan and the United States.

Patient satisfaction with medical care received at selected medical facilities in the United States (895 patients) and in Japan (856 patients) was compared using self-administered questionnaires. In each country, patients at a large government hospital and a smaller affiliated clinic were surveyed. Patients responded to questions concerning specific aspects of medical care, general satisfaction with the care received, waiting time to see the physician and time spent with the physician. Results suggest that patients at study sites in both countries were generally satisfied with the medical care they received. However, American patients were more likely to report satisfaction than their Japanese counterparts on each dimension of health care measured. The largest discrepancies were found in satisfaction with waiting time to see the doctor and time spent with the doctor. Stepwise discriminant analyses indicated that provider skill may be the most important predictor of overall satisfaction with medical care in both countries. These results are discussed in the framework of the underlying health care system.