ABSTRACT
Consumer satisfaction will play an increasingly important role as more is learned about the effects of health care reform and managed competi tion. However, more than general knowledge is needed about the consum er’s (patient, payer, referring professional, etc.) perception of how well care and service should be provided. If one expects to eliminate the differ ence between what the consumer expects and services actually delivered,
180 ALIGNMENT
it is important to design a consumer satisfaction program that measures results at the department/service/caregiver level.
