Abstract
There are many researches on patient satisfaction in Japan in the last decade and we have to utilize the information from the researches effectively. Very few attempts have been made at collecting data from more than one institution. The purpose of this study is to fill in this gap and to examine the differences in the degree of outpatient satisfaction and the factors which affect outpatient satisfaction depending on hospital types classified by bed size and function. The results indicated that factors such as the evaluation of the doctor, the evaluation of the amenity services, perceived change in health had a statistical y significant effect on patient satisfaction among all the types of the hospitals. The standardized regression coefficient of the evaluation of the doctor was the highest in all the types of hospitals. Moreover, in an analysis of the university hospitals, patient satisfaction was affected by further factors in addition to the three factors mentioned above. Lower patient satisfaction was associated with younger age, longer waiting time, and a longer span of continuous hospital visits. University hospitals and large-scale hospitals need to take various measures such as decreasing the waiting time and creating a comfortable environment to spend the waiting time in order to improve medical service quality for patients.
