Abstract
The use of patient questionnaires has increased widely in recent years. Their purpose, to incorporate patient perspectives into the orientation and design of health care, is, of course, commendable. However, the survey methods themselves have been less adequate, both in terms of validity and reliability, and with respect to the potential for using the results to improve the quality of health care. Presents a pilot study at three departments of ophthalmology in Sweden, involving a new method which meets reasonable demands for validity and reliability, and is explicitly change-oriented.