Medical clerical staff work in the central postions of hospital management and as doctors' assistants. These roles are functions of hospital administration that are directly and indirectly related to the medical consumer. Given this relation, it seems natural that such staff should perform their activities while paying attention to issues that affect the medical consumer; that is to say, a medical consumer oriented approach. In this study, the following categories were extracted from literature and patient satisfaction surveys relating to medical services: (1) collection, processing and transmission of information; (2) medical consumer standards; and (3) service communication. The authors show how these categories should constitute the basic principles for a medical consumer oriented approach to service provision and evaluation. Furthermore, in the present context, hospitals are under pressure to improve their levels of patient satisfaction. The authors argue that ensuring that staff follow these principles will help hospitals reach acceptable levels of patient satisfaction.
