The Healthcare Customer Service Revolution

In the summer of 1995, a group of representatives of some of the country's largest employers and purchasers of health insurance agreed to pursue a fundamental shift in emphasis in the nation's managed healthcare now that costs have begun to be controlled, they want the primary focus to be placed on measuring the quality of care. This broad-based agreement was reached at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, by 30 officials of federal, state, and local employees' organizations, consumer groups, and officials of such major employers as American Express, the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, the Ameritech Corporation, and PepsiCo. All together they represented an estimated 80 million consumers of health insurance.

Measuring the quality of care is the focus of The Healthcare Customer Service Resolution. It reports what patients currently think about the quality of the healthcare they receive. This book explores what employers, managed care companies, and providers are doing to measure patient satisfaction with hospitals, what they do with the information, and how customer satisfaction can impact a hospital's future revenue. The authors have interviewed thousands of patients, 25 major employers, and managed care companies representing millions of patients about the important role customer service plays when patients choose and keep a particular health plan, doctor, or hospital.