SERVICE

Overview

Even in the short time since the release of the first edition of QUALITY PROFILES, patient satisfaction with care and service has moved to a more central place in most organizations' thinking about quality improvement.

Many health plans have made, or are now making, wholesale benefit design changes as a result of satisfaction feedback by, for instance, eliminating or reducing referral constraints. Most, if not all, health care organizations are becoming much more knowledgeable about the elements of dissatisfaction that can lead to disenrollment.

But providing good customer service is a complex undertaking in any large organization: activities that sound simple enough - producing ID cards, managing call centers and keeping member information up to date - require robust training programs and excellent organizational management.

As the profiles in the following section clearly illustrate, communication is the core competency related to satisfaction among members. Whether it is from a doctor or his/her staff, a customer service representative or a marketing department, people are hungry for credible, information about their health care. To succeed in today's increasingly competitive environment, organizations and providers can follow the lead of the health plans featured in the pages ahead.