Patient satisfaction not linked with health status

Modern Healthcare: Study Questions Utility Of Satisfaction Scores
Newly released research has linked higher patient satisfaction scores with greater healthcare costs and increased risk of mortality. Despite the growing reliance on satisfaction scores as a tool for evaluating physician performance, "research suggests a tenuous link between patient satisfaction and healthcare quality and outcomes," according to the study published online Feb. 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine (McKinney, 2/13). 

The Sacramento Bee: Satisfied Patients Not Always Healthiest, UC Davis Study Shows
 In fact, satisfied patients are more likely to be hospitalized, have higher health care costs and be more likely to die than less-satisfied ones, according to a study released Monday by UC Davis researchers. … [The  study] is believed to be the first to suggest that emphasizing patient satisfaction could have unanticipated adverse effects (Garza, 2/14).