Factors Influencing Patient Satisfaction with Healthcare Services in Poland

Abstract

Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of healthcare quality, reflecting individuals' experiences with medical services and healthcare facilities. It is influenced by a wide range of factors, including the quality of care, communication with healthcare providers, accessibility, costs, system organization, and health outcomes. Digitalization of healthcare, including electronic medical records, e-prescriptions, and remote communication tools, is increasingly influencing patient satisfaction by improving accessibility and convenience of care. This review explores the main determinants of patient satisfaction in the context of the Polish healthcare system. The article identifies 6 thematic categories of influencing factors: quality of care, service accessibility and organization, patient-related variables (such as age, gender, or socioeconomic status), financial considerations, digitalization, and achieved health outcomes. Personalized communication and empathetic attitudes from healthcare professionals emerged as key drivers of satisfaction. Additionally, systemic aspects, including wait times and coordination of services, remain critical concerns for Polish patients. The review highlights the tools used to measure satisfaction in Poland, particularly the Patient and Staff Satisfaction Survey Tool (PASAT), developed by the National Center for Quality Monitoring in Healthcare. Regular satisfaction surveys serve not only as an internal quality assessment mechanism but also as a foundation for policy-making and system improvements. Despite numerous partial studies, there is a lack of standardized and comprehensive approaches to evaluating patient satisfaction at the national level. This article reviews the evaluation and determinants of patient satisfaction with healthcare services in Poland. All publications were analyzed using a nonsystematic review method.