Affiliations: [a] Division of Statistical and Data Sciences, RTI International, Washington, DC 20005-3967, USA | [b] Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends (CFACT), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD 20857, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Steven B. Cohen, Division of Statistical and Data Sciences, RTI International, 701 13th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-3967, USA. Tel.: +1 202 974 7857; E-mail: scohen@rti.org
Abstract: Recent changes in the provision and organization of
health care initiated by the Affordable Care Act have led to concerns about
how these changes interact with the medical provider organizational
characteristics to affect access, use, and expenditures for care. To examine
the impact on individuals' use of care and costs, linked information is
needed on both the characteristics of the medical providers' organizations
and the individuals receiving care. There is currently no nationally
representative data source that provides this essential information.
Consequently, a Medical Organizations Survey (MOS) has been added as a
component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to address this
limitation. The MEPS-MOS will obtain essential data on provider
organizational characteristics, policies, and treatment protocols for a
nationally representative sample of physicians providing care to MEPS
participants. This paper describes the survey and sample design of the
MEPS-MOS, survey content and precision targets and its analytical focus.
This addition will substantially enhance the analytic capacity of the MEPS
by facilitating assessments of how provider organizational structures and
policies impact on health care utilization and expenditures, health status,
patient safety and the health outcomes of individuals.
Keywords: Physician survey, medical organizations, MEPS
