Introduction:

Nowadays, medical practice emphasizes towards patient-centered care models, which is consistent with the nature of the medical profession. This model has tremendous advantages, especially in the context of a healthcare system that is in crisis. Considering that patients’ satisfaction is an important indicator of quality of care that depends on expectations, its evaluation may lead to a better understanding of factors that can modify the perception of care. Moreover, the evaluation of this factors could improve health outcomes, thus reducing costs in the long run.

Purpose:

To make a literature review of the expectations of patients regarding doctors’ behavior was performed.

Materials and methods:

A search on PubMed, Lilacs and Embase databases was made with MeSH terms and free terms.

Results:

46 articles met the stablished inclusion criteria. 4 key aspects concerning patients` expectations were defined: Trust, respect (autonomy), empathy and communication.

Conclusions:

Even if numerous investigations on this matter have been made, findings are very heterogeneous. Most of the times similar key aspects are explored, however, expectations vary depending on cultural differences and their characteristics. Thus, local investigation is suggested to explore expectations of individuals.

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