CIient satisfaction: Why bother?

The literature on client satisfaction with health care services is considerable, but much is related to the period before the introduction of health care reforms of recent years. Interest in these areas has been sporadic, possibly because of the biases associated with this type of research. In the current climate of reduced health care resources and health care reforms, the findings from client satisfaction studies are increasingly being viewed as an integral component of strategic management and program monitoring. In this paper the main problems are discussed, with particular reference to alcohol and drug (AD) services, and strategies to enhance satisfaction are suggested. The need for routine studies conducted with standardized instruments with good psychometric properties is discussed.