Washington, D.C. -- A national survey of veterans commissioned by the National Partnership for Reinventing Government has found that veterans who use the hospitals and clinics of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are increasingly satisfied with VA health care. Eighty percent of VA health-care users are more satisfied than two years ago.
"The results of this survey confirm what we in VA have known for some time that administration changes have led to better health care and greater satisfaction among the veterans we serve," said Acting Under Secretary for Health Thomas L. Garthwaite. "This survey gives us solid information as we plan further improvements in VA health care for veterans."
The survey was based upon a nationally recognized model called the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Vice President Al Gore and the National Partnership for Reinventing Government recently applied the ACSI survey to 30 different federal agencies. The result is data about customer satisfaction that invites comparisons to the private-sector.
The data about VA health care can be compared to identical studies about the attitudes of non-veterans to vital services. In health care, veterans gave an overall satisfaction rating of 79 (index score: 0-100 scale). That was significantly higher than the score of 72 recorded by the general public for all industry sectors or the score of 70 for private hospitals.
The ACSI previously covered 170 private corporations and only two federal agencies, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Postal Service. The President's Management Council sponsored the survey's expansion in the federal sector.
For years, VA has surveyed veterans and conducted focus groups to improve health-care services for veterans. Its re-engineering efforts have focused on planning for future demands and have stressed high standards for service among employees.
The health-care element of the latest survey involved contacting veterans by phone who received outpatient care between May 1 and May 14, 1999. The overall loyalty to the VA system in this sample of veterans registers extremely high -- an index score of 90 for VA compared to 68 for private hospitals -- based on their willingness to reuse the system. Veterans also gave high marks to the quality of VA services.
More information on the National Partnership for Reinventing Government can be found at its web site -- http://www.npr.gov. The recent study was administered in collaboration with Arthur Andersen consultants and the American Society for Quality.
The President's Management Council, which consists of the chief operating officers of the cabinet agencies, has asked those federal departments to repeat the surveys next year. VA officials are looking at the possibility of expanding the topics covered in future surveys.
