QualityCounts™ Medical Group Report

Project Overview and Detailed Results

The Madison Alliance produces QualityCounts™, a report on medical group quality. Where possible, this report compares scores to National benchmarks that reflect results of the highest-scoring health plans that use this survey.

Quality Counts™, Consumer Information for Better Health Care, is a service of the Employer Health Care Alliance.

Medical Groups—Measurement at a Level That Matters

To date, most National and regional health care comparisons have focused on performance at the health plan level. HEDIS, for example—administered by the National Committee for Quality Assurance—is one of the best known measurement systems for HMO comparisons.

The Alliance is one of several business coalitions working to measure and report on medical group quality—a level where options are greater and decisions more complex for most consumers. Others include the Buyer's Health Care Action Group in Minnesota and the Pacific Business Group on Health in California.

Comparisons of Care and Service

The Medical Group Report shows consumers how satisfied patients are with the care and service they receive from primary care doctors and clinic staff. The report looks at medical group quality in five areas:

Doctor communication and care

• Doctor communication—Does the doctor spend enough time, listen carefully, explain things clearly, and show respect?
• Doctor rating—How do patients rate their personal doctor or nurse?
• Health care rating—How do patients rate the care they received in the last year from clinic doctors and other providers?

Clinic service

• Getting care quickly—Do patients get help and advice when they call the clinic? Is it easy to get care for an illness or injury? Is it easy to get routine care? Are patients seen on time when they have an appointment?
• Staff service—Are clinic staff members helpful? Do they treat patients with courtesy and respect?

The report also compares the performance of local medical groups to National benchmarks where available. These benchmarks reflect results for the highest-scoring health plans in the Nation that have used this survey. You'll see benchmarks for the two rating items and for the individual items that make up the three composites—doctor communication, getting care quickly, and staff service.

Where the Data Come From

The Alliance used a survey called the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey—CAHPS® ®—developed by the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The tool, designed for use with health plans, has been tested and validated for use at the medical group level. The Alliance hired an independent company to conduct the CAHPS® ® survey in the fall of 1999.

The survey was sent to 6,000 Alliance member employees in south-central Wisconsin who had visited a primary care doctor in the last 12 months. For this report, primary care doctors include specialists in family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, and geriatrics. (Results for UW Health-University Physicians do not include family practice physicians.) The results in the report are based on answers from approximately 300 patients of each medical group. The survey results show how satisfied these patients are with their medical groups.

While satisfaction is an important measure of quality, it doesn't provide a complete picture. Over time, The Alliance will bring consumers information on other important measures—like how well doctors provide preventive care and care for chronic illness.

Doctor Communication and Care

Having a Doctor Who Spends Enough Time

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health providers at the clinic spend enough time with you?

Medical Group: Benchmark Score.
Excellent (Always): 64%.
Good (Usually): 27%.
Fair/Poor (Sometimes/Never): 9%.

Having a Doctor Who Listens Carefully

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health providers at the clinic listen carefully to you?

Medical Group: Benchmark Score.
Excellent (Always): 74%.
Good (Usually): 23%.
Fair/Poor (Sometimes/Never): 3%.

Having a Doctor Who Explains Things Clearly

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health providers at the clinic explain things in a way you could understand?

Medical Group: Benchmark Score.
Excellent (Always): 77%.
Good (Usually): 20%.
Fair/Poor (Sometimes/Never): 3%.

Having a Doctor Who Shows Respect

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health providers at the clinic show respect for what you had to say?

Medical Group: Benchmark Score.
Excellent (Always): 72%.
Good (Usually): 24%.
Fair/Poor (Sometimes/Never): 4%.