Do On-Site Patient Satisfaction Surveys Bias Results?

On-site methods may yield satisfaction results that are biased in a positive direction for younger patients and for all patients in which social desirability pressures are prominent. Therefore, organizations that rely on such information may have an inflated view of the patient's satisfaction with their care delivery experience. Secondly, because the differences in ratings are the greatest for the “people aspects” of care, if improvement efforts are prioritized on the basis of these rapid results, the wrong priorities may be set.