Patient satisfaction with care at directly observed therapy programs for tuberculosis in New York City

Objectives. This study examined patients' satisfaction with New York State' s tuberculosis (TB) directly observed therapy (DOT) programs in New York Ci ty. Methods. A survey was conducted of 435 patients at 19 public, private? and community-based TB DOT clinics about their satisfaction with various aspect s of the programs. Results. Patients identified the opportunity to receive good medical care a s the most important aspect of TB DOT. Also significant was the supportiven ess of DOT staff. Receiving incentives to encourage participation was stati stically less important. Half of the patients reported being better off wit h DOT than with self-supervised care. Conclusions. This study confirms the value of patient-focused care among in ner-city TB patients.