What do patients expect from Acupuncture? / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

The concept of "patient's satisfaction"has become increasingly important among healthcare providers during the past decade. Acupuncture and moxibustion therapists have relatively longer contact time with patients, and a certain proportion of users of these remedies seek care for conditions that had not been satisfactorily managed with conventional care. Also, the comfortable process of the treatment is one of its beneficial characteristics. However, the characteristics and opinions of the users of acupuncture and moxibustion in Japan have long remained unclear. We have conducted a series of nation-wide surveys between 2003-2007 with grants from the Foundation for Training and Licensure Examination in Anma-Massage-Acupressure, Acupuncture and Moxibustion. The questions in these surveys included utilization rates, patient satisfaction, reasons for discontinuation, opinions on costs, and so on. The results of these surveys are provided along with some discussion in this article.