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MANAGED CARE May 2006. ©MediMedia USA

News and Commentary

Patients want better quality so long as they don't have to pay for it

While about half of adults believe that there are fair and reliable ways to assess health care quality, only 19 percent think it would be justifiable for patients to pay more when treated by medical groups or hospitals that provide better care. The data result from an online survey of 2,123 U.S. adults that was conducted between March 20 and 22 for the Wall Street Journal Online's Health Industry Edition. Among the interesting tidbits, adults are less likely today than they were three years ago to think quality can be measured fairly (49 percent vs. 58 percent).

"Do you think there are fair and reliable ways to measure and compare the quality of care provided by different hospitals and different medical groups?""Do you think it would be fair for patients to pay more to be treated by medical groups or hospitals which have been shown to provide better care or not?"

Source: Wall Street Journal Online's Health Industry Edition