11.7.19
Key Findings
Finding 1: New York State residents worry about health care quality nearly as much as they worry about affordability and insurance coverage.
Finding 2: New York State residents think high-quality health care is characterized by a variety of attributes, including effective treatments and procedures, clear communication and respect. About two-thirds of state residents think doctors vary in quality and about two-thirds think hospitals vary in quality.
Finding 3: Only about one-third of New York State residents think there is enough publicly available information about the quality of doctors’ or hospitals’ care. Most of them say that information about effectiveness and error rates would help them identify high-quality doctors and hospitals. Yet just over half of state residents think it would actually be easy to find out whether a specific doctor or hospital provides high-quality care.
Finding 4: Actual patients are the source that the most New York State residents would trust if they wanted to find out about the quality of a doctor’s or hospital’s care. Fewer would trust the state government. Yet most think the state government should provide information about the quality of every doctor’s and hospital’s care. Most residents say doctors should discuss health care quality with patients.
Finding 5: New York State government should monitor doctors’ and hospitals’ quality and hold them accountable for the quality of their care, most state residents believe. Most also believe that both the state government and health insurers should provide the public with information about the quality of every doctor and hospital.