A system dynamics perspective of patient satisfaction in healthcare

Healthcare systems face challenges including diminishing resources and increasing demands. The challenges need to be balanced in this complex system of systems to ensure a sustainable quality of life. Sustainability considers the needs of future generations without compromising the needs of current generations. The social component of sustainability is one of the important areas in healthcare sustainability. The social component focuses on considerations such as equity, empowerment, accessibility, participation, cultural identity, and institutional stability. Patient satisfaction is a key factor in the social element. Patient satisfaction represents patient fulfillment in regards to the cost, accessibility to services and resources, and patient wellbeing. It is analogous to 'customer satisfaction'. A systems thinking approach is applied to analyze the social aspect in healthcare systems. This paper explores important factors and factor relationships in healthcare social sustainability related to patient satisfaction using a system dynamics approach. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B. V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Georgia Institute of Technology.