Patients' Expectations for Medical Care: An Expanded Formulation Based on Review of the Literature

Abstract

An expanding literature on patients' expectations for medical care suffers from definitional confusion and lack of a conceptual model linking patients' expectations to important antecedents and consequences. This article aims to (1) provide a clear and inclusive definition of patients' expectations for care, (2) place patients' expectations in a conceptual framework built around patient satisfaction, and (3) develop a taxonomy of patients' expectations that promotes improved clinical care and research. Patients' expectations may be understood as beliefs or attitudes that interact with perceived occurrences to produce care-related evaluations. Research over the past 30 years indicates that patients' expectations may express probabilities or values related to a specific visit or to ongoing care, that the content of patients' expectations is broad, and that it makes a difference when expectations are elicited. This framework raises numerous questions for future research.