Background
: Family physicians should be sensitive to patient's cognition, belief, and explanatory model on health and disease which derive from their cultural background. And nowadays, there happen many discussions on merging of oriental medical care and occidental medical care, so we need concern and understanding on oriental medicine. In this context, we made this inquiry to find out patient's rates of satisfaction and cognition on Occidental medical care and oriental medical care, and to prepare data base for approach to patient's ethnomedical model.

Methods : We made up a questionnaire of 15 questions, repectively 5 questions professional competency, doctor's personal quality, and cost and convenience, and get a survey of patient's rate of satisfaction and cognition about these provisions with same questionnaire, and let the responders write answer by himself or herself. At this survey, the respondents were 400 outpatients of Occidental polyclinic, oriental polyclinic, Occidental private clinic, oriental private clinic(100 respectively).

Results : The patients of oriental general hospital and private clinic showed higher satisfaction rate at orental medical care than those of Occidental general hospital and private clinic, and the patients of occidental general hospital and private clinic had higher cognition rate at oriental medical care than those of oriental general hospital and private clinic.(P<0.01) The respondents of all hospitals and clinics showed greater satisfaction rate at oriental medical care in all following specific questions : 'Occidental(oriental) medicine is fitter for Korean physical constitution.', 'Occidental(oriental) medical doctors are better at explanation.', 'We can get better hearer at occidental(oriental) hospitals.', 'The doctors of Occidental(oriental) medicine are interested only in making money.', 'I have affinity for the perspective on human body of Occidental medicine.', 'Waiting time is too long in occidental(orental) hospitals.', and so on.(P<0.01) The satisfaction rate at the question, 'It is easier to go to the drugstore for medication rather than to bother with Occidental(oriental) doctors.' was higher at occidental private clinic(P<0.01) than oriental private clinic, and the satisfaction rate at the question, 'Many people cannot go to Occidental(oriental) clinic due to time.' was higher at oriental hospital.(P<0.01)

Conclusion : We could find out that the satisfaction and cognition rates to the oriental medical care are absolutely higher, and patients have affinity to the explanatory model of Oriental medicine. Family Physicians should have a comprehension about this cultural background of patients, and many researches should be done about thought structure and explanatory model on health and disease of Korean and match their content with patient care.