Patient satisfaction costly, but maybe not so healthy

A satisfied patient is not a cheaper patient: however important such a finding may be in these budget-constrained times, that comes as little surprise. More unexpected is the finding that a satisfied patient is not necessarily a healthier patient—that the patient happy with the medical attention he or she receives from a physician is more likely to die than the patient who grumbles about it. Yet both findings emerge from a study published "online first" on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.