Patients in Rochester reflect the perspectives of patients in the rest of the country, according to a leader in the area’s health community.
This week, NPR and partners released a national survey that looks at patients’ perspectives of health care. Respondents came from 7 states.
While perspectives from New York were not included in the report, Wade Norwood—Chief Strategy Officer at the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency—says trends in the survey reflect what’s happening locally.
One example: most Americans say they’re happy with their own doctors, but are unhappy with the system as a whole.
“People personally are connected to care and connected to their care provider, but complaining of the growing complexity and the costs associated with the overall system of care,” says Norwood.
Furthermore, more than a quarter of Americans report health care costs as the cause of major financial problems.
“We're also continuing to see data that people are denying themselves care with cost as a major factor,” says Norwood.
More than a third of national survey respondents report they’re paying more for their health care premiums, co-pays, and deductibles than they did 2 years ago.