Objectives: The aim of this article is to study patient satisfaction with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in an in-hospital setting before and after the introduction of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs).
Methods: Patients were interviewed regarding a general evaluation of their hospital stay, the psychological talking therapy, the nutrition therapy, and the overall success of the treatment.
Results: The medical treatment was evaluated by 1158 patients. A very good success was reported by 347, a good by 609, a moderate by 181, and none by 21 patients. DRG implementation showed no significant effects. Psychological talking therapy was evaluated as "very good" (P ≤ .05). With regard to the success of the medical talking and nutrition therapy, there were no significant differences (P ≥ .05) between the time before and after DRG implementation.
Conclusion: Broadening conventional medical treatment with CAM practices can lead to a parallel treatment of DRGs in hospitals working with complementary medicine. This results in very patient-centered therapies, which may impact patient satisfaction.
Keywords: Germany; complementary medicine; diagnosis-related group; holistic care; integrative medicine; patient satisfaction.