quality reports : Patient Experiences : Q & A


Quality Insights:
2007 Patient Experiences in Primary Care

Questions & Answers

What is the MHQP Quality Insights: Patient Experiences in Primary Care Report?

This report includes survey data from patients across Massachusetts about their experiences with primary care doctors and their offices. This is the largest patient experience survey done in Massachusetts. This report gives information about all the doctors in an office together, not individual doctors.

Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) prepared this report. MHQP sent surveys to more than 165,000 patients in Massachusetts during September and October of 2007. These surveys asked people about experiences with their (or their child's) primary care doctor and his or her office. This report includes results from:

  • Over 400 doctors offices across Massachusetts
  • Over 1,650 primary care doctors, for adults
  • Over 650 primary care doctors, for children

What is the "patient experience"?

The patient experience refers to all that happens to a patient from the moment he or she walks into a doctor's office until the end of the appointment. It also includes all phone calls or other contact a patient has with the doctor's office before or after appointments.

MHQP used surveys to learn about the patient experience of treatment and care given by doctors and others in the doctor's office. Surveys focused on:

  • How well doctors communicate with patients. This includes whether doctors listen to patients and give clear directions or explanations.
  • How well doctors know their patients. This includes knowing about a patient's medical history as well as beliefs or values about health and illness.
  • How well doctors give preventive care and advice. This type of care includes immunizations (shots) to keep from getting certain diseases as well as screening tests to check for cancer and other conditions. It also includes talking to patients about ways to stay healthy by being active and eating the right foods.
  • How well doctors coordinate patient care. Sometimes doctors refer patients to outside specialists (other health professionals who are expert in certain diseases or treatments). Primary care doctors coordinate this care by keeping up-to-date with what the specialist suggests and following-through with all needed tests or treatments.
  • If patients get timely appointments, care, and information. An example is giving patients test results very soon after the doctor learns this information.
  • If patients get care from other doctors or nurses in the office. Sometimes patients are seen by nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or other health professionals instead of primary care doctors.
  • If the doctor's office staff is polite and helpful.

How does the patient experience relate to quality healthcare?

Studies show that the patient experience is one of the most important aspects of quality healthcare. For instance, a good experience can help patients follow (comply with) medical advice. A bad experience may keep patients from getting needed care if they leave a doctor's office feeling mad or confused.

Doctors and their offices can use patient experience information to improve the quality of care they give to patients. For instance, doctors may make changes to check that patients understand health information and what to do when the visit is over. Doctors can help remind patients to get needed tests and make sure patients get the results from tests. They might return patient's phone calls faster or make it easier to get appointments.

How can this report help patients and their family members?

MHQP talked about this report with patients and family members across Massachusetts. They said they plan to use this information to:

  • See how their doctor's office compares to others in the state.
  • Help choose a new doctor. This includes making a choice based, in part, on experiences from other patients.
  • Help a friend or family member learn more about their doctor's office and, if needed, choose a new doctor.
  • Talk about their experience with the doctor. Since doctors already know about this survey, they should be ready to discuss it with patients.

How can I find my doctor's score?

This report gives results for doctor's offices, not individual doctors. You can find information about your doctor's office by typing his or her name on Quality Reports: Patient Experience page. Your doctor's name will appear if his or her office is included in this report. You can then look up patient experience information about this doctor's office.

To be included in the report, a doctor's office must have at least 3 doctors and have received enough patient survey responses for the results to be correct (statistically reliable). Therefore, this report does not include information about doctors who practice alone or with just 1 other doctor.

This report includes offices where doctors practiced as of December 31, 2006. If a doctor moved after that date, this report does not reflect the change. You can learn more about this survey by going to the Technical Appendix.

There are many results for each doctor's office. Why isn't there just one overall score?

Each patient experience measure looks at just one aspect of care. One reason MHQP does not put these measures into an overall score is because each one tells only part of the patient experience "story." Another reason is that patients can choose to look at just those areas of care which matter the most to them.

Does a low score mean that a doctor's office gives poor care?

Not necessarily. A low score can simply mean that the doctor's office needs to improve just one aspect of care. Doctors are working hard to improve the quality of their healthcare. MHQP expects these improvements to show up in future patient experience surveys.

How does MHQP know it asked the right questions?

The questions chosen for this patient experience survey are well tested. This includes:

  • Fifteen years of research by a team of internationally recognized survey scientists in the health care field.
  • Testing to make sure that each question is worded so people with a range of English literacy skills can understand.
  • Testing to make sure that each question is reliable, valid, and gives quality data.
  • Testing to check the reliability of data. Measures needed a sufficient number of responses to be included in the report.

How do you know that the survey fairly reflects the patient experience?

Survey research shows that patients who are pleased with their care are just as likely to respond as those who are unhappy. MHQP feels confident that this survey report fairly reflects the patient experience.

How can I find my health plan's score?

This report looks only at care given in primary care doctors' offices. To learn more about the performance of health plans across Massachusetts, go to the National Committee for Quality Assurance website at www.NCQA.org.

How is the MHQP Quality Insights: Patient Experiences in Primary Care Report funded?

MHQP received funding for this survey and report from four of its member health plans—Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Fallon Community Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Health New England.

MHQP asked a wide range of groups to be involved in this report, not just the member health plans. Other groups include MHQP's Physician Council, the Massachusetts Medical Society, patient/consumer focus groups, and medical/academic research organizations.

About Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP)

MHQP is a broad-based coalition of doctors, hospitals, health plans, purchasers, consumers, and government agencies that work together to promote the improvement of quality healthcare in Massachusetts. MHQP was started in 1995 by health care leaders in Massachusetts who recognized that valid, comparable measures help drive quality improvement. MHQP now provides reliable data to help doctors improve the quality of patient care and also to help consumers make informed choices about their healthcare.

MHQP member organizations include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Fallon Community Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Health New England, Neighborhood Health Plan, and Tufts Health Plan, Massachusetts Hospital Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, MHQP Physician Council, two consumer representatives, CMS Regional Office, and one employer representative.

The MHQP Physician Council includes medical directors from 14 large doctor organizations, including Baycare Health Partners; Beth Israel Deaconess Physician Organization; Caritas Christi Health Care System; Boston Medical Center; Fallon Clinic; Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates/Atrius Health; Lahey Clinic; Mt. Auburn Cambridge IPA; New England Quality Care Alliance, Partners Community Healthcare, Inc.; Pediatric Physicians Organization of Children's Hospital Medical Center; Riverbend Medical Group; South Shore PHO; and UMass Memorial Health Care.

 

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