Sharing Experiences of Illness and Care

Improving the experience of patients is central to the endeavor of medicine. However, as Donabedian¹ recognized, the concept of patient experience should be separated from the concept of patient satisfaction. Patient experience refers to the totality of the person's care, including appropriateness of care and the degree to which it meets the multiple goals of each individual, not merely the immediate satisfaction it provides. For example, it is easy to improve satisfaction through excessive tests, prescriptions, and procedures.²