Differential Perceptions of Health Care Quality in a Prepaid Group Practice

Abstract

This study explores the differences in the relative importance that physicians, nurses, and different categories of patients place on certain aspects of care. The hospital provider for a prepaid group practice plan was used as a site, Differences were found between the importance placed on different attributes for seriously ill hospital patients and routine walk-in patients. All groups tended to perceive greater discrepancy between their own personal preferences and the priorities attributed to the hospital in the care provided routine walk-in patients as opposed to seriously ill hospital patients. Physicians tended to be most homogeneous and the patients tended to be least homogeneous in their preferences. Physicians tended to place more emphasis on the technical aspects while nurses placed more emphasis on the more personal aspects of care. Implications of these findings for the organizational evaluation of care are suggested.