title: An HMO survey on mass customization of healthcare delivery for women.
abstract: A telephone survey of 1,000 randomly selected women members of Kaiser Permanente examined preferences for care delivery. The majority of women under age 55 (80%) were interested in scheduling evening or Saturday appointments, and half (50%) of them were willing to switch doctors for this option. Although most (57%) said that physician gender 'did not matter,' women who preferred to see a female physician but were seeing a male were significantly less satisfied than women whose preferences were matched. Half (51%) of women were open to receiving health education in group classes. Information on when care is preferred, by whom, and in what setting sets the stage for mass customization strategies.
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nussbaum
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014481:United States; D014932:Women's Health Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*