Recently , a panel of AMA delegates vehemently opposed the idea of using secret shoppers to evaluate customer service of medical practices. For those of you unaware of what a " secret shopper " is (via Wikipedia ): Mystery shopping is a tool used by market research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Mystery shoppers posing as normal customers perform specific tasks -- such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way -- and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences. According to the article, "the secret shopper concept is not being proposed to evaluate clinical skills but the way medical professionals manage relationships with patients, from the process of making appointments to such things as explaining billing practices." Of course, this shouldn't interfere with real patients and take up valuable resources. I'm ...
This is my blog that will highlight current issues, trends and policies affecting Nurse Practitioners and the health care system today.