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HealthDay News — More Americans than ever are satisfied with their visits to the doctor, according to a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll.
The online poll of over 3000 people aged 18 and older found that 88% of those who visited a doctor’s office in the past year were satisfied with their last visit — a 5% increase from 2012. And 53% said they were very satisfied with their last doctor’s visit.
Satisfaction appeared to increase with age. Sixty-nine percent of people aged 70 and older were very satisfied, compared with 47% of those aged 18 to 35. When asked if they were very satisfied with their last visit to the doctor, whites (54 percent) and blacks (57%) were much more likely than Hispanics (43%) and Asians (39%) to say so.
Those surveyed also identified what factors were most likely to influence their level of satisfaction. These factors included the doctor’s overall knowledge, training, and expertise (83%); access to overall medical history (65%); time spent with the doctor (58%); ease of making an appointment (49%); efficient and simple billing (45%); and being able to communicate by phone or e-mail with the doctor outside of an appointment (44%).
Time spent waiting was a very important factor in judging how positive the visit was for 43% of those surveyed. Less important factors were convenience of a doctor’s office location (40%), amount of paperwork (32%), and the appearance and atmosphere of the doctor’s office (31%).
