SATISFACTION WITH ACCESS TO AND QUALITY OF HEALTH-CARE AMONG MEDICAREENROLLEES IN A HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION

This study was designed to determine the levels and predictors of Medi care enrollees' satisfaction with access to medical care and quality o f health care in a health maintenance organization. Data collected by an instrument adapted from the Group Health Association of America's C onsumer Satisfaction Survey were analyzed after being linked with admi nistrative data. In general, Medicare enrollees reported high satisfac tion with both access to and quality of health care. Most members (96% ) rated skill, experience, and training of physicians and the friendli ness and courtesy of the staff favorably. A lower percentage of member s (77%) rated favorably the ability to contact a physician after hours . Levels of satisfaction were essentially not explained by patient cha racteristics such as age, sex, geographic region, medications, or util ization. Stepwise regression identified the ease of arranging appointm ents as the strongest predictor of satisfaction, with access to care a nd outcomes of medical care as the strongest predictor of overall sati sfaction with quality of health care. These findings indicate that ite ms that members rated least favorably, such as ability to contact a ph ysician after hours, added little to the prediction of satisfaction wi th access to and quality of health care.