Service quality assessment of workers compensation health care delivery programs in New York using SERVQUAL

Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) provide healthcare services to an expanding proportion of the U.S. population. This paper presents a programmatic assessment of service quality in the workers' compensation environment using two different models: the PPO program model and the fee-for-service (FFS) payor model. The methodology used here will augment currently available research in workers' compensation, which has been lacking in measuring service quality determinants and assessing programmatic success/failure of managed care type programs. Results indicated that the SERVQUAL tool provided a reliable and valid clinical quality assessment tool that ascertained that PPO marketers should focus on promoting physician outreach (to show empathy) and accessibility (to show reliability) for injured workers.