The Dutch Government Adopts MedRisk’s Instrument For Measuring Patient Satisfaction

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA  - January 18, 2007 – The Centre for Evidence Based Physiotherapy located at Maastricht University in the Netherlands has partnered with MedRisk, Inc. to incorporate the MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction and ECB Benchmarking services into their national quality assurance program for measuring the quality of care delivered by physical therapists.

MedRisk is a US-based specialty managed care firm focused on physical medicine and claims workflow technology solutions.  Its research and academic subsidiary Expert Clinical Benchmarks, LLC, (ECB) monitors treatment outcomes, measures patient satisfaction and develops best-practice evidence-based treatment guidelines.

For several years, the Netherlands government has operated their healthcare system on a “pay for performance” basis, similar to the system that Medicare and Medicaid are initiating in the US.  As part of their program requirements, physical therapists are obligated to demonstrate the quality of care delivered by submitting a cumulative annual report on clinical elements that define quality care.  Patient satisfaction is one of those elements.  The MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction provides an objective, standardized tool for measuring patient satisfaction. 

The MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction will be available via the Internet in Dutch, for all physical therapy clinics in the Netherlands by the end of the first quarter of 2007. ECB will provide benchmarking services so that both the clinics and the government can review reports and evaluate clinic performance as it relates to patient satisfaction by comparing the performance of clinics against each other as well as against national standards. 

The MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction was validated in the US in 2001 and in the Netherlands in 2003.  Roger Nelson, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Vice President of ECB, Rob De Bie, PhD, PT, Professor, University of Maastricht, Department of Epidemiology and Director of the Rehabilitation and Related Therapies Field at The Cochrane Collaboration, and Erik Hendriks, PhD, PT, Associate Professor at the University of Maastricht, the Director of Quality Studies at the Royal Dutch Society of Physiotherapy, and Senior Researcher and Manager of the Program for the Development and Implementation of National Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Allied Health Professions collaborated on the project.

About MedRisk

Founded in 1994 and based in King of Prussia, Pa., MedRisk, Inc. provides specialty managed care services along with claims workflow management tools to the workers’ compensation industry. With a demonstrated core competency in physical medicine management, MedRisk has leveraged its technological expertise and evidence-based research to provide a growing list of products and services to its client community including document management, best-practice claim-workflow automation, specialty network services, network integration and data analytics. MedRisk’s programs deliver savings and operational efficiencies that are significantly greater than traditional programs. Customers include insurance carriers, self-insured employers, third-party administrators and general managed care workers’ compensation companies.

More information is available at www.medrisknet.com or by calling 1-800-225-9675

About ECB

Expert Clinical Benchmarks, LLC, (ECB) is the clinical research and academic subsidiary of MedRisk, Inc. ECB monitors treatment outcomes, measures patient satisfaction, conducts academic offerings for clinicians, performs peer reviews, and is the industry leader in the development and maintenance of physical medicine treatment guidelines and utilization management protocols based on integrated outcome models and evidence-based practices.

More information is available at www.expertclinicalbenchmarks.com or by calling 1-800-814-8712.

Media Contacts: 

Helen Knight
King Knight Communications
813-254-4411
[email protected]

Rommy Blum
MedRisk, Inc.
610-768-5812
[email protected]