Blue Cross Provides California Health Care Consumers with Zagat Health Survey Tool

Blue Cross has introduced the Zagat Health Survey, a new online tool that allows consumers to comment about their physician experiences for the benefit of others in the Los Angeles area.

The tool is available right now to members enrolled in Blue Cross's Lumenos consumer-driven health plans and will be available to all members in the Los Angeles area at the end of the first quarter of this year. Blue Cross will continue to roll out the tool throughout the rest of the state.

Brian A. Sassi, president of Blue Cross of California, said his company was drawn to Zagat because of its established reputation as a trustworthy online source of information and its ability to help health care consumers interact with and learn from the experiences of their peers-a previously unmet need in California.

"By working with them we are able to create a trusted resource for consumers and actively engage consumers in sharing and using that information," Sassi said.
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The Zagat Health Survey will provide a vehicle for members to review and evaluate physicians based on certain criteria that reflect their experience with the doctor and the provider's office, not the quality of care received. Consumers can review their doctor visits in the areas of trust, communication, availability, and office environment. In addition, they can add remarks in a comments section to explain their ratings.

"The rating of physicians on such things as access to the office, friendliness of staff, confidence in the doctor, and other such non-medical criteria via this new system is essentially an electronic version of the more traditional 'word of mouth' network, in which friends refer friends to their 'favorite' doctors," said Dr. Hector Flores, medical
director of Family Care Specialists Medical Group in Los Angeles. "Patient satisfaction and feedback are extremely important for a successful practice."

The survey and results will be available free of charge to members through their health plan's web site.

- U.S. Insurance News