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    • History

      Founded in 1982 with HQ in Fort Worth and offices in Washington, DC.
      Our focus is in health care with special emphasis on a range of research, market information and consulting services for health care providers and health insurance organizations.
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      Resources

      DSS offers a fully integrated organization covering project design, project management, data collection, data processing, analysis and reporting. This approach offers complete control of quality, timing and cost. This approach is supported by in-house data collection resources, including..
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    • Certifications and Approvals

      Obtaining certifications and renewing them annually gives us regular, external review of our processes and procedures.

      Certifications:


      • Commercial and Medicaid CAHPS (since 1999).
      • Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (since 1998).

      Approvals:


      • Home Health CAHPS (since 2009).
      • Medicare CAHPS (this is a new program and we became fully approved in 2011).

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    • Contact Us

      Fort Worth, TX Office:

      4150 International Plaza,
      Suite 900
      Fort Worth, TX 76109

      Toll Free: 800.989.5150
      Phone: 817.665.7000
      Fax: 817.665.7001


      Washington, DC Office:

      2111 Wilson Blvd,
      Suite 700
      Arlington, VA 22201

      Phone: 703.351.5040
      Fax: 703.351.9292


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  • Solutions
    • Industry Programs Solutions Group

      CAHPS®

      Commercial and Medicaid CAHPS® Medicare CAHPS® Home Health CAHPS® Clinician and Group CAHPS® PCMH CAHPS® ICH CAHPS®

      Health and Wellness

      HRA (Health Risk Assessment) Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (HOS)

      Health Care Engagement Index™ (HCEI™ )

      Background Scale Development Results Simple way to use DSS HCEI Advanced way to use DSS HCEI

      MA Compliance, including Open Enrollment Verification (OEV)
    • Custom Research Solutions Group

      Advertising and Communications Brand Market

      Market Share and Dynamics Market Segmentation

      Product and Pricing Qualitative Services

      Traditional Focus Groups Online Focus Groups In-depth Interviews

      Satisfaction/Loyalty/Member-Patient Experience Trackers
    • Strategy Research Solutions Group

      Market Segmentation

      Attitudes, behaviors and Product Preferences Health Risks Behavioral Change or Level of Engagement

      Conjoint Analysis/Discrete Choice

      Product/Service Design Pricing Cost Value Analysis Market Simulation Brand Value

      Health Insurance Exchanges Key Drivers of Satisfaction Predictive Modeling
  • Industries
    • Health Insurance

      Nearly 100 of the nation's health plans call DSS their preferred provider of research and consulting services, ranging from the largest national carriers to those serving single markets. We cover just about all of the research (all of the kinds of research covered in the services section),
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      Health Care Providers

      DSS has conducted numerous studies with health care providers on behalf of health plans, provider groups and individual providers.
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    • Medical Device

      Conjoint analysis has been used by DSS to upgrade and design many different types of medical devices and medical services. Whether high-technology devices, high-touch medical services or low-tech disposable products, DSS has applied its years of experience to helping our clients optimize their products, identify unmet needs and estimate demand in new markets.
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    • Other

      Although focused on health care, DSS has conducted market research in a wide array of industries. Some examples are:
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  • Knowledge Center
    • Webinars

      Look for announcements of our informative and insightful webinars covering a range of issues of interest to our clients and prospective clients. These webinars focus on how to use various types of research information to improve your customer/member/patient experience, products, communications, programs and other elements of your business.
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    • Calculators

      DSS has several calculators that are useful to market researchers.


      • Sample Size. Sample size calculators allow researchers to determine the sample size needed on a study whether...
      • Sampling Error. Once a study has been conducted, the Sampling Error calculator will indicate...

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    • Research and POV from DSS

      Check out our library of white papers on a range of topics of interest, primarily to those in the health care field. Many of these white papers have been published in academic and professional journals. Others are highly specialized and relate to very specific issues that may be of interest to you. These papers are provided solely to disseminate our knowledge and experience and include no sales message.
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    • News Release

      Supporting our clients across the spectrum of their needs requires different resources and skills depending upon where a particular need falls on the spectrum. To make sure that we have the right resources and people to address a particular client need, DSS has reorganized into three Solutions Groups, including Industry Programs, Custom and Strategy Solutions Groups.
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    • Newsletter

      Our newsletter comes out quarterly. It covers news about the company, people, products and other aspects of the business and the health care industry. Recent copies are provided in the library and you are invited to sign up to receive future copies.
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  • Careers
  • Contact Us
    • Fort Worth, TX Office:

      4150 International Plaza,
      Suite 900
      Fort Worth, TX 76109

      Toll Free: 800.989.5150
      Phone: 817.665.7000
      Fax: 817.665.7001


      Washington, DC Office:

      2111 Wilson Blvd,
      Suite 700
      Arlington, VA 22201

      Phone: 703.351.5040
      Fax: 703.351.9292

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You are here:  Solutions > Industry Programs Solutions Group > Health Care Engagement Index > Advanced way to use DSS HCEI
  • Industry Programs Solutions Group
    • CAHPS®
      • Commercial and Medicaid CAHPS®
      • Medicare CAHPS®
      • Home Health CAHPS®
      • Clinician and Group CAHPS®
      • PCMH CAHPS®
      • ICH CAHPS®
    • Health and Wellness
      • Health Risk Assessment
      • Medicare Health Outcomes Survey
    • Health Care Engagement Index™
      • Background
      • Scale Development
      • Results
      • Simple way to use DSS HCEI
      • Advanced way to use DSS HCEI
    • MA Compliance
  • Custom Research Solutions Group
    • Advertising and Communications
    • Brand
    • Market
      • Market Share and Dynamics
      • Market Segmentation
    • Product and Pricing
    • Qualitative Services
      • Traditional Focus Groups
      • Online Focus Groups
      • In-depth Interviews
    • Satisfaction / Loyalty
    • Trackers
  • Strategy Research Solutions Group
    • Market Segmentation
      • Attitudes and Product Preferences
      • Health Risks
      • Behavioral Change or Level of Engagement
    • Conjoint Analysis/Discrete Choice
      • Product/Service Design
      • Pricing
      • Cost Value Analysis
      • Market Simulation
      • Brand Value
    • Health Insurance Exchanges
    • Key Drivers of Satisfaction
    • Predictive Modeling

News Room

  • Jacob Hughes is a new Network Engineer as ...Jacob brings with him a wealth of IT experience

  • Ender Ilhan is a new project manager at DSSEnder has many years of experience in health care marketing research. Prior to joi...

  • DSS launches Patient-Centered Medical Home...DSS launches Patient-Centered Medical Home PCMH portal to support clients and the ...

  • DSS RESEARCH is NCQA Certified to Conduct ...DSS Research, the leader in health care market research and consulting, announced ...

  • DSS introduces Risk-based segmentation for...It is time to consider risk-based stratification or segmentation to better underst...

  • DSS Research hires Kevin Spence as a new p...Kevin brings to us many years of experience in client services.

  • Almost 70% of the 5-Star Medicare Advantag...A special congratulations to all of our 2012 5-Star Medicare Advantage clients!. D...

  • DSS Research Achieves SSAE 16 Type II Cert...DSS Research, the leader in health care market research and consulting, announced ...

  • DSS Research Ranks Among Top Patient Satis...For the third year running, Modern HealthCare ranked DSS Research among the Top 10...

  • DSS RESEARCH Announces ReorganizationDSS Research, the leader in health care market research and consulting, announced ...

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Advanced way to use DSS HCEI™

A More Advanced Application

At the other end of the spectrum, the application outlined below gives you much more power including the ability to apply results to all members and target communications and programs.

Overview

  • Gives you everything you get with simple application.
  • Add the ability to apply to all members.
  • Target all members, by segments, for customized communication.
  • Much bigger impact.

Survey instrument

  • DSS Health Care Engagement Index questions (16 questions in reduced form, 41 in detailed form).
  • Satisfaction with health plan.
  • Health status, risk assessment (HRA) and current health care usage.
  • Preferred communications channels for various activities.
  • Interest in new programs, tools and technologies.
  • Demographics.
  • Optional tradeoff exercise regarding wellness programs and preferred incentives for participation.

Selective probability sampling of entire member population

  • The entire member population used for sampling.
  • Sample Medicare, direct pay and commercial members.
  • Oversample HSA and direct pay members as needed.
  • Oversample the sickest and least compliant members (high actionability) based on claims data.

Data collection

  • Mail survey approach used.
  • Option to complete survey online instead of by mail.
  • Incentives can be offered to direct pay and commercial members in second mailing if response rate is below expectations.
  • No second mailing generally needed for Medicare members due to high response.

Claims data

  • Claims data for all members for three preceding years.
  • Claims aggregated at the episode level so that continuing care of related conditions are summarized as a single record rather than numerous independent records.
  • Claims further aggregated by DSS to focus on preventive care, illnesses, injuries, chronic conditions and congenital diseases as large groups.
  • Health Risk Assessment (HRA) data used where available.

HCEI Analyses

Initial analyses

  • DSS Health Care Engagement Index calculated.
  • Pra (Probability of Repeat Admissions) and Brody Frailty indices calculated for Medicare members if appropriate questions included.
  • Utilities computed from tradeoff exercise when available.
  • Data weighted to reflect true member proportions.
  • Market segmentation conducted across Medicare, direct pay and commercial members.
  • Predictive model of segments developed using available member demographics, claims data and appended data from a supplier such as Knowledge Based Marketing (KBM) or Acxiom.
  • Predictive model of segments can be developed using existing HRA data.

Post analyses

  • Market segmentation solution applied to all members using the best available predictive model.
  • Predictive models provided to client for ongoing classification of new members and reclassification of existing members as new data becomes available.
  • Segments are prioritized based on member needs and ability to positively impact those segments.
  • The highest priority segments are targeted for the first phase of plan intervention and marketing initiatives.
  • Specific action plans identified for each segment to cover preferred programs, communication channels, product issues and key segment drivers.
  • Advertising agency / communications team participation encouraged in development of segment personas and naming.
  • Claims data are highly correlated with level of DSS Health Care Engagement Index scores for members.
  • HRA instrument improved to address engagement in addition to health status.
  • Engagement scores are also strongly linked to plan satisfaction and perceptions of plan value.

Payoff

  • Measure member engagement more accurately.
  • Assign all members to an appropriate segment and evaluate the entire member population.
  • Prioritize outbound calling and mailings.
  • Establish a program for early identification of new members with health issues before claims data is available.
  • More targeted communications strategies and ad campaigns at the segment level.
  • Identification of the best candidates for wellness programs, disease management, patient centered medical homes and other outreach programs based on member needs and receptivity.
  • Improved product and benefit recommendations based on the needs and interests of each member.
  • Profile large group employee populations based on segment membership and overall level of engagement prior to sales presentations.

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