An instrument for measuring the concept of good care, in relation to the Swedish Health and Medical Services Act, has been developed and tested in short-term care. The instrument comprises 14 statements on good care. The construct validity was estimated by factor analysis based on the results from 240 patients. Five factors explained 62% of the variance of the 14 variables and covered the following areas: information, security, accessibility, continuity, and influence and respect. Patients ( n = 240) and registered nurses ( n = 57) showed differences in estimations of the concept of good care on all factors. There were only minor differences, however, within the patient group and the nursing group, respectively, on comparing the two samples. The instrument needs further testing in different care conditions.