To improve results on the aspects of care the survey measures requires effort by both doctors and patients. Good communication, efficient use of office time, and other aspects of the doctor-patient relationship are a two-way street.

Later in this Guide, under the headings "Resources to Help Physicians Improve" and "Resources to Help Patients Do Their Part," doctors will find organizations and materials that can help them improve, and patients will find advice, checklists, and other materials that will help them do their part in communication and other aspects of relating to a doctor and the doctor's staff. Patients might even want to look at some of the materials intended for doctors to enhance patient understanding of the challenges physicians are up against in dealing, given limited available time, with many different types of patients who need many different types of interaction with their doctors.