Patient expectations and performance measures in dermatologic surgery.

Overview

Patient satisfaction has increasingly played an important role in quality-of-care reforms and health care delivery. In dermatologic surgery, patient expectations of procedures and the outcomes are important determinants of satisfaction. Identification of the patient's met and unmet expectations through patient-reported outcome measures may enable a better understanding of the patient's perspective and improve communication and the delivery of care. Performance measures report on the quality of care being delivered. Performance measures currently being implemented into dermatologic practices may have a role in demonstrating the "quality" of dermatologic surgery procedures in the near future.