The use of attitudinal data for public policy: the case of unnecessary hospital use.

A national sample of both hospital administrators and hospital review chair-persons (the two adversarial providers in the hospital regulatory milieu) were surveyed and asked to estimate the degree and kind of unnecessary hospital utilization taking place both in the U.S. and at their own institution. Both groups indicated that inappropriate hospital use was considerable. Even more striking was the degree of concordant perceptions about the magnitude and type of unnecessary use at their own hospitals. The shared perceptions held by two conflicted parties in the regulatory process justifies continued scrutiny of hospital admissions, stays and ancillary services, forms a sound basis for policy intervention and illustrates how attitudinal research methods may be used in the making of health care policy.