Obama's secret Doc appointment survey

Survey's are done because the answers aren't obviously known, and this is a good way to gather data.

Back when I worked as a cashier in a big grocery store, we knew that any day of the week, whether on the express or regular line, we were subject to a "secret shopper" who was to record whether we asked all the questions that we were supposed to, and complete all the tasks necessary to check them out quickly, and whether we did anything above the call of duty, or outside the normal SOP, to help them out. Our reviews were weighed heavily to include these evaluations - it made us better cashiers b/c we never knew who wasn't really a shopper so we had to be spot-on every time. If these doctor's are so pissy, maybe they should be examining how they can improve their services...

Plans for the survey have riled many doctors because the secret shoppers will not identify themselves as working for the government.

“I don’t like the idea of the government snooping,” said Dr. Raymond Scalettar, an internist in Washington. “It’s a pernicious practice — Big Brother tactics, which should be opposed.”

Government snooping? More like a client making sure that they are getting what they pay for - if I have to pay for healthcare out of my taxes, I sure as hell want to make sure that the money is being spent efficiently; that's what reviews are for. Is it a perfect system, no, but at least they're trying to reduce waste (because if we're paying for a person's healthcare and they can't get in to see a doctor, then we taxpayers are wasting our money). Of course, it doesn't address the problem of the doctor shortage directly, and that would be even more beneficial, if indeed there is one (I know there is in some specialties, and certain regions, but not details beyond that).

PrintSmith wrote:

Science Chic wrote: Survey's are done because the answers aren't obviously known, and this is a good way to gather data.

You think perhaps that the data from non-federal sources wasn't accurate?

http://www.massmed.org/AM/Template.cfm? ... isplay.cfm

http://www.sfexaminer.com/news/health/2 ... dical-care

The first study was done of only Massachusetts, and if you look at the results, they vary widely by specialty and type of insurance.

The second one was done in only one county in IL and they are "assuming" that the results reflect practices in the rest of the country - the feds are actually going to sample several states (9, which isn't really enough, but better than the two above) so it'll better represent more of the country.

The study was done in Cook County, Ill., the nation's second-most populous county which includes Chicago, but the researchers and others say the results likely reflect practices around the country.

The fed study is restricted to PCP and Ob/Gyn only, which isn't going to be indicative of other specialties, but the point isn't to confirm that there's a shortage of doctors, it's to confirm that the doctors are selectively not accepting people with public health insurance - hence, we tax payers are paying for something that isn't being used and our money's being wasted, and the attempt to implement health care isn't going to have the intended effect, get people the basic care that they need, so that health care costs can go down (an ounce of prevention...).