Research plan development and methodology

¶ … physicians view the health care system of the United States in terms of cost, quality and access. The purpose of this research plan is to develop a survey that will present a conceptual model for measuring health plan quality from the perspective of physicians and nurses.

The survey will be conducted through telephone interviews and emailed surveys to a national random sample of 30 physicians and 20 nurses nationwide between February and March 2003.

Due to the fact that fewer Medicare beneficiaries are in managed health care plans, the survey asks doctors and nurses only about their experiences with patients under 65 years of age. The physician sample will be drawn from the American Medical Association's physician list and will target physicians who care for patients 20 or more hours per week.

This survey will gather quantitative information about physicians' and nurses' experiences with and attitudes towards health plans, particularly as related to patient care. In addition, this survey will determine whether or not physicians believe that they are the major benefactors of the health care system.

The survey will also gather precise responses from physicians and nurses in order to analyze their judgments about the consequences of health plan denials for their patients. Data presented on the consequences of health plan denials represents the judgments of the surveyed participants.

Physicians will be asked to determine whether or not they believe that small improvements, such as increased availability of vaccinations, improved technology and additional staff, would have an impact of the entire health care system.

They will also be asked to determine which areas of health care they view as being top priority in order to improve health care quality and delivery for all Americans and how these areas can be improved.

The ultimate goal of this survey is to identify which key characteristics and factors physicians and nurses believe will enable or encourage health care providers, health care organizations, health plans, and communities to continuously improve the quality of health care; and development of a research agenda in areas of continuous uncertainty.