Development and validation of a patient satisfaction scale for musculoskeletal care

Objective. To test the hypothesis that 3 distinct domains of patient satisf action with musculoskeletal care-satisfaction with the office environment, provider-patient interaction, and treatment outcomes-can be measured reliab ly and, when considered separately are more valid indicators of satisfactio n than global measures. Methods. Three hundred ninety-nine outpatients who presented with knee or s houlder pain rt ere enrolled in a prospective cohort study, We measured pat ient satisfaction with musculoskeletal care by adapting a widely used gener ic satisfaction survey. Results, Each domain of the scale was internally consistent, with Cronbach' s alphas for satisfaction with the office environment, provider-patient int eraction, and treatment outcome subscales of 0.68, 0.95, and 0.93, respecti vely. Validity correlations demonstrated the greater specificity of the sub scales than global measures for particular aspects of musculoskeletal care. Conclusions. The musculoskeletal-specific satisfaction scale has excellent reliability and good discriminant validity. From a policy perspective, the distinct subscale structure is critical because problems within each domain may hare different remedies.