The night was clement, the ambience tranquil, but the room bore a murky sheet of the dark hollow that did not aptly depict the feeble condition of the patient turning in bed. A voice, a sudden outcry of directed inquiry, broke the ominous silence that had engulfed the two people in that room,

“Are you feeling better?” a concerned doctor asked her patient, and the patient assuaged by the insurmountable humanity in the tone of her voice, feebly mustered back, “Slightly.”

The patient in this rendition happens to be me, and the doctor is our venerable family doctor who served us tirelessly and superlatively over the years. The night in question is when my bout with pneumonia had practically rendered me unconscious and I was too weak to even pull myself out of bed.

This angelic source of personable care and comfort had gone out of her way by driving from another city, at the behest of my wife, to provide me a new lease on life. Her commitment to providing the best medical care possible to her patients, was indeed inspirational, in fact I will go so far as to say that all my family members and I literally trust her with our lives. Needless to say, she values our satisfaction just as she does the satisfaction of several other patients she administers care for.

I have 7 doctors in my own family, and by observing their interactions with their patients over the phone in general, and in particular by observing one of my cousin’s at his medical practice, I have learned that physicians not only care about, but practically revel in the satisfaction of their patients. All the other elements such as Billing and the Co-pays, and the medical histories, etc. are all part of a general process that is essential, but is not a reflection of what patient satisfaction means to physicians.

As a well-educated member of a result-driven society, I know the value of the quality of my work, and furthermore, as a Healthcare IT professional, I know the value that a satisfied customer has for me. This satisfaction has nothing to do with any material benefit, but the sense of accomplishment provided by a smile not seen but felt in a phone conversation, or the sheer pride and joy that an unequivocally satisfied customer’s gratitude carries with it, is unquantifiable.

We are all working professionals and we are all driven by the desire to be successful at what we do. Rare wonder then that a patient’s satisfaction means the world to physicians, because the gratitude of a patient towards a physician is related to something as precious and delicate as the thread of life itself.

I wouldn’t be a very successful or celebrated shaman if the dwellers in my village went uncured or were unsatisfied with the remedy I would have administered to them; hence in order for me to be able to practice as a shaman in the first place, the satisfaction of my disciples has to be paramount. This analogy leads to the parallel that because of the serious and sensitive nature of the services rendered by a physician, it is absolutely essential that the physician should provide care which elicits satisfaction or otherwise face the brunt of a medical malpractice litigation or worse yet, infamy.

The dictate of the Hippocratic Oath ensures that a physician will conduct their practice in a manner conducive to quality of care and general well-being of their patients, thereby ensuring patient satisfaction.

The day was crisp, the sun was radiant, and the bright candescence of the rays spread abundant energy all across the surrounding plateau of the campus hospital as one shy, reserved student nervously walked in for a follow-up and a routine shot. The welcoming and comforting voice of the point-of-care physician filled the room, with a directed inquiry, “Are you feeling better?”