Docs with crappy bedside manner are getting whacked, big time, according to the November 30 New York Times. About time, I say.
More and more group-practice compensation plans are docking docs—or rewarding them—based on patient satisfaction measures. For instance: Rochester Independent Practice Association … 20% of docs’ pay (3,000 docs) is based on patient satisfaction measures. Tufts Health Plan … 3K to 4K docs lost all or part of their bonuses last year because of low C.Sat. #s. California Medical Association … a $30,000,000 pot will be divvied up among 35K docs based on C.Sat. scores—the consequences could run $5,000 per doc.
Typical statements patients respond to: “Is easy to talk with”; “Is very familiar with my medical history”; “Takes time to answer my questions”; “Listens carefully to me”; “Is someone I feel I can trust.”
Bravo!
(NB: This ties in nicely with my recent rant on the applicability of “business” thinking to the world of non-profits.)