Yaffe R, Shapiro S, Fuchseberg R R, Rohde C A, Corpeno H C
Med Care. 1978 Aug;16(8):641-59. doi: 10.1097/00005650-197808000-00003.
The Medical Economics Survey-Methods Study was conducted under contract for the National Center for Health Statistics during 1975-76. The objective was to determine the cost-effectiveness of a variety of strategies under consideration for application in a national survey in 1977. Detailed data on health care utilization and expenditures were collected periodically from a panel of 691 Maryland households over a seven-month period. Issues tested through a random experimental design included the relative effectiveness of monthly versus bimonthly interviews and in-person versus telephone contact. Completeness and accuracy of information were determined through an extensive record check involving all providers and third party payers identified in the household check involving all providers and third party payers identified in the household survey. The results indicate that there are substantial deficiencies in the household reporting and that the household data for all types of medical services would benefit from the availability of record data in order to improve theri accuracy. The frequency of contact (monthly versus bimonthly) had little effect on the accuracy of reporting. Given the higher rate of attrition observed for the monthly procedures and their considerably greater cost, the bimonthly interval appears to offer advantages. In-person contact resulted in significantly better reporting compared with telephone contact in the Baltimore area, but no difference was found in more rural Washington County. Thus, the 10 per cent cost increase for in-person contact may well be justified by the improved accuracy of the data obtained for certain types of populations.
“医疗经济学调查方法研究”是在1975 - 1976年期间根据与国家卫生统计中心签订的合同开展的。其目的是确定1977年拟用于全国性调查的各种策略的成本效益。在七个月的时间里，定期从691个马里兰州家庭组成的样本组收集有关医疗保健利用和支出的详细数据。通过随机实验设计测试的问题包括每月访谈与每两个月访谈的相对有效性，以及面对面接触与电话联系的相对有效性。通过对家庭调查中确定的所有医疗服务提供者和第三方支付者进行广泛的记录检查，来确定信息的完整性和准确性。结果表明，家庭报告存在重大缺陷，所有类型医疗服务的家庭数据若能获取记录数据将有助于提高其准确性。接触频率（每月与每两个月）对报告准确性影响不大。鉴于每月调查程序的人员流失率较高且成本大幅增加，每两个月的间隔似乎更具优势。在巴尔的摩地区，面对面接触比电话接触的报告效果明显更好，但在农村地区的华盛顿县则未发现差异。因此，对于某些类型的人群而言，面对面接触成本增加10%很可能因所获数据准确性提高而合理。
