Summary. With the goal of description of methodological approaches used in studies of satisfaction of consumers of medical services in our country and abroad, we have made a comparative analysis of scientific studies on the topic. The content of the theoretical-conceptual approaches to studying patients’ satisfaction with medical service worked out by western sociology of medicine has been considered.

There have been analyzed the data of mass sociological interviews of population conducted according to national sample captures in Russia in the last decade. The latter indicated the low level of satisfaction of the Russian population with out-patient (50.9%) and in-patient (57.7% - 70.3%) service.

The analysis of the results of theoretical and empirical studies on this topic has allowed to detect a number of conceptual problems complicating determination and systematization of quantitative and qualitative indices of satisfaction, their combinations and interrelations, what resulted in separation of an unreasonably big number of sociological research trends. In particular, it has been detected that researchers did not have a united opinion concerning the term satisfaction of consumers with quality of medical services and factors identifying it. The least studied is the effect of provider’s characteristics on the volume and types of consumed medical services, as well as the effects reached owing to the population visits to the system of healthcare. Special scientific attention is demanded by further conceptualization of the problem of interrelation of patients and providers of medical services. Poorly known are issues concerning the effect of the change of organizational structures and financial mechanisms in healthcare on behavior of consumers of medical services, their interrelation with the system of healthcare and the social and medical effects received as a result of such interrelations.

Key words. Satisfaction with medical services; quality of medical assistance; social assessments of consumers of medical services; organization of medical assistance; technical and functional aspects of quality of medical assistance.

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