WASHINGTON, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Disease Management Association of America (DMAA) and J.D. Power and Associates, a global marketing information firm, announced a collaborative project on patient satisfaction. The two organizations are undertaking Phases I and II of a three phase project on Patient Satisfaction that aims to gain a better understanding of how patient satisfaction is being measured today and to assess what validated tools are available that may be used for measuring patient satisfaction with DM programs. The project will also identify a minimum set of core questions for assessing patient satisfaction with DM programs.
“DMAA looks to the expertise brought by J.D. Power and Associates to help conduct this important survey of how the DM community is currently measuring patient satisfaction with DM programs,” states Warren E. Todd, Executive Director, DMAA. The project is guided by the Patient Satisfaction Workgroup, a subcommittee of the DMAA Quality and Research Committee. J.D. Power and Associates has been working with the Patient Satisfaction Workgroup to develop and conduct a survey of DMAA members, analyze the data, assess other available tools and develop a publishable report from the findings.
Steven D. Wood, PhD, Executive Director of the Healthcare Division of J.D. Power and Associates adds, “This collaboration presents a valuable opportunity to have the voice of the patient heard in a robust and consistent way by those who manage and monitor their care. As in the other industries that J.D. Power and Associates’ serves, this research will be designed to help improve the quality of services provided to patients, and ultimately increase patient satisfaction. We are most pleased to dedicate our expertise and experience to this important initiative.”
“There are multiple issues being addressed by the Patient Satisfaction Project and an initial drawback is that existing evidence indicates there is no standardized tool to measure patient satisfaction, and the processes/methodologies of measurement are inconsistent,” notes Graham Cherrington, Chair, DMAA Patient Satisfaction Workgroup and Vice President, Corporate Business Development, Matria Healthcare, Inc. Based on initial DMAA membership feedback, most existing patient satisfaction survey instruments appear to have been internally developed to satisfy “clients,” and tend to vary greatly. Adds, Jaan Sidorov, MD, Chair of DMAA’s Quality and Research Committee and Chief Medical Officer of Geisinger Health Plan, “There are no standard processes or procedures for measuring satisfaction within the DM industry and it appears that few, if any, of the patient satisfaction survey instruments being used for DM, have been validated.”
The results of the study will be presented at the DMAA Disease Management Leadership Forum in Orlando, Florida, October 21-23, 2004. Ultimately, the findings will help determine whether DMAA should undertake a separate third phase to create a unique DM survey tool and consolidation system that will allow comparisons between different programs, i.e., how does one program compare to the average of another program.
For additional information, please contact Karen Fitzner, Ph.D., Director Research and Program Development, DMAA 312-337-8295 [E-Mail: kfitzner@dmaa.org]
DMAA is a nonprofit, voluntary membership organization which represents all stakeholders of the disease management community.
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CONTACT: Warren E. Todd, Executive Director, of Disease ManagementAssociation of America, +1-202-861-1491, wtodd@DMAA.org
