Consumer satisfaction levels are high
In the first patient survey since it instituted the Choice Plus program, the Buyers Health Care Action Group (BHCAG) in Minneapolis, MN, has found satisfaction levels quite high.
In a survey of approximately 9,700 employees enrolled in Choice Plus, between 87% and 97% said that overall, they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the care system from which they receive medical services. (A "care system" is defined as a primary care clinic or group of clinics with affiliated specialty, hospital and allied professional arrangements, structured to handle the patient’s full continuum of medically necessary care.)
Meanwhile, 88% to 97% said that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the quality of adult care they receive within their care system; levels of satisfaction with care provided for children were reported to be slightly higher. The survey covered the period of April 1997 through August 1997.
The results are depicted in charts similar to those used by Consumer Reports magazine. Each care system receives one, two, or three stars in a variety of categories related to consumer satisfaction. Stars were assigned based on whether the individual organization’s results were significantly below, above, or at the average for all care systems or health plans in the survey. The confidence level on these designations was 95%, meaning that the results reported are 95% certain to represent real differences and are not simply due to the survey’s methodology. (For a selected sampling of BHCAG’s charts, see insert.)
In addition to making these report cards available to member employees, BHCAG will meet with the care systems and health plans over the next few months to discuss strengths and weaknesses revealed by the survey.
[Editor’s Note: BHCAG’s patient information was drawn from a joint statewide survey conducted in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations and the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It was administered by the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Health Services Research and included telephone interviews with more than 22,000 consumers.]
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