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The concept of patient satisfaction has become an independent evaluation criterion in the context of quality assurance. A review of patient satisfaction surveys referring to consumer satisfaction as a relevant health care concept, mostly being conducted in the USA, identifies numerous theoretical and methodological deficiencies. A consistently high level of patient satisfaction is reported, which is difficult to interpret. This requires critical analysis of what is meant by the term "satisfaction", considering theoretical concepts of satisfaction taken from various research areas. The paper concludes by pointing out that the concept "patient satisfaction" as it is used at present should not be seen as a valid indicator for the quality of care.

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The present study analyses aftercare planning for 2.536 Patients of the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Düsseldorf. Data were collected from the Psychiatric Basis Documentation and on the basis of hospital reports on 100 schizophrenic patients taken from the same sample. All statements concerning aftercare and discharge planning in the hospital reports were submitted to content analysis. Results indicate a remarkable discrepancy between psychopharmacological and psychosocial aftercare, especially for schizophrenic patients. Possible conditions which strengthen biomedical thinking to the disadvantage of psychosocial aftercare are discussed.

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