title: How consumers evaluate health care quality: Part II.
abstract: This article is the second in a series which examines the way in which consumers assess information regarding the quality of health care services. In the previous article it was demonstrated that, in the view of health care consumers, three major perceptions held by health care consumers, are: (1) substantial differences in quality exist among health care providers, (2) little information is available that allows for the comparison of health care providers on issues related to quality, and (3) when such information is available it is found to be useful and often serves as the basis for decision regarding the choice of health care providers. We further discussed the short coming of marketing strategies based on complex quality indicators and the difficulties of image advertising in an age of institutional mistrust. The reader is reminded that these findings relate to the subjective assessments of consumers, not to objective facts concerning health care delivery.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Missouri, Columbia 65211, USA.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Bopp
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003657:Decision Making; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D011639:Public Opinion; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States