National Journal of Community Medicine│Volume 8│Issue 5│May 2017 Page 268 ORIGINAL ARTICLE pISSN 0976 3325│eISSN 2229 6816 Open Access Article www.njcmindia.org Assessment of the Level of Satisfaction Related to Quality of Health Care at Public Health Facilities in Satara District Maharashtra Rajesh A Gaikwad 1 , Supriya S Patil 2 , Satish R Patil 3 , Prakah M Durgawale 4 Financial Support: None declared Conflict of Interest: None declared Copy Right: The Journal retains the copyrights of this article. However, re- production of this article in the part or total in any form is permissible with due acknowledgement of the source. How to cite this article: Gaikwad RA, Patil SS, Patil SR, Dur- gawale PM. Assessment of the Level of Satisfaction Related To Quality of Health Care at Public Health Facilities in Satara District Maharashtra. Natl J Community Med 2017; 8(5):268-271. Author’s Affiliation: 1 PG Student, Dept of Community Medicine; 2 Associate Professor, Dept of Community Medicine; 3 Professor, Dept of Microbiology; 4 Professor, Dept of Community Medicine, KIMS Demmed University, Karad Correspondence Dr Supriya Satish Patil Patil.drsatish@gmail.com Date of Submission: 20-04-17 Date of Acceptance: 24-05-17 Date of Publication: 31-05-17 ABSTRACT Background: Patients satisfaction represents a key marker for the quality of health care delivery and this is internationally accepted factor needs to be studied repeatedly for smooth functioning of the health care systems. This study was therefore undertaken with the aim to find out outpatient satisfaction related to quality of care at public health facilities in Satara district. Objective: To assess the level of satisfaction of patients attending selected primary health centers. Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional facility- based. The sample comprised 120 patients selected by stratified and system- atic sampling at the primary health centers. The patients were in- terviewed using structured pretested closed ended questionnaire and analyzed. Results: 39 (32.50%) patients from health centers were in age group of 61-75 yrs. 44 (36.67%) patients were educated up to pri- mary level. 66 (55.00%) patients were farmers. There was direct as- sociation of funded and non-funded PHCs when waiting time and space, availability of clean drinking water, cleanliness of toilet, get- ting free treatment, and availability of almost all necessary investi- gations were taken into consideration. Conclusions: It can be concluded that availability of funds under Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) has increased the quality of health care at the primary health centres and thus patients satisfac- tion. Key words-satisfaction, funded, non funded, IPHS, quality, health care INTRODUCTION In health care organization patient satisfaction is an important measure of service quality .From a management perspective, patient satisfaction with health care is important for several reasons, first, satisfied patients are more likely to maintain a con- sistent relationship with a specific provider. Sec- ond, by identifying sources of patient satisfaction, an organization can address system weaknesses, thus improving its risk management. Third, satis- fied patients are more likely to follow specific medical regimens and treatment plans 1 .Various methods have been used to assess the adequacy of patient’s utilization of health services in general and of primary health care services in particular. Patient satisfaction is considered an important in- dicator of the efficient utilization of health services, as it assesses an individual’s attitude to health ser- vices received and the extent to which these ser- vices meet the person’s requirements and needs 2-4 . The quality of service means an inexpensive type of service with minimum side effects that can cure or relieve the health problems of patients 5 .It is dif- ficult to evaluate the results of treatment in order to find a solution to the health problems or effects of medical treatment. On the other hand, it is easier to evaluate the patient’s satisfaction towards the service than evaluate the quality of medical ser-