Kaiser Family Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality surveyed 1,216 adults in the U.S. about quality of healthcare and patient safety.
Some highlights:
• 51% said they are dissatisfied with overall quality of health care and 41% are satisfied.
• 36% have seen info in the past year comparing the quality of health plans, hospitals, or doctors, and about half (20% of the overall population) have used the info to make care decisions.
• 60% said coordination of care among their health care professionals is a problem, and 26% say it is a major problem.
• Many individuals have taken steps to coordinate their own care. EG: 34% report they or a family member have created their own medical records to ensure that all medical info is in one place. 54% have ever brought a list of all their medications to the doctor’s office with them.
• After being read a common definition of “medical error,” 43% said that they think preventable errors are made very or somewhat often. 48% believe preventable errors are more likely to be made by individual physicians than by the institutions where they work (36% believe the institutions are more likely to make the errors).
• 87% said doctors should be required to tell patients if there was a preventable medical error resulting in serious harm. 87% support required reporting of serious medical errors. 63% say if errors are reported, the information should be released to the public.
This survey makes clear the need to bring an active consumer voice to health care quality improvement. Consumers are concerned about the quality of their care and many are taking thier steps to improve the quality of care they receive. We at HCFA believe many consumers are ready to take the next step and help improve quality of care at a systemic level.
Deb Wachenheim
