SEATTLE, January 24, 2006 -- QuestionPro, a leader in online survey hosting and delivery since 2002, was selected by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) to create a sophisticated online survey, dubbed "Medical Matchmaker", to enable a brand new type of interactive journalism.
MPR.s Web and broadcast project will examine one of the biggest changes in the world of health insurance - consumer-driven healthcare - where employees take more risk and responsibility for their health care. It has launched a series of seven reports on the rapid increase in consumer-driven health care, exploring how the new plans are working, the pros and cons for consumers, and how this new trend will affect our health care system. A key ingredient in the series is "Medical Matchmaker" - an online simulation -- that will both inform its future health care coverage and help people navigate the complex new landscape of health insurance plans.
"'Medical Matchmaker' is a new tool for journalism," said Andrew Haeg, senior producer for Minnesota Public Radio, "that helps people discover their priorities as they choose between options. It's an innovative application of conjoint analysis, a survey method, to news coverage."
The simulation walks you through 12 pairs of hypothetical health care plans, each with a different mix of features. You choose the one you prefer from each pair. The software then compares the plans you chose against those you didn't choose. At the end, it shows you what features you really care about (cost, choice of provider, etc.) and which general type of health insurance plan best fits your priorities.
Minnesota Public Radio News staff will also use information provided by those who use Medical Matchmaker to help design future news coverage on health care. The simulation is part of Minnesota Public Radio's innovative model, Public Insight Journalism. The online survey is available to the publich on the Web at http://www.mpr.org/medicalmatchmaker.
"What we needed goes far beyond the basic free or light version of online survey services," said Haeg. "QuestionPro's sophisiticated features, including support for Conjoint Analysis, enabled us to create this highly specialized survey."
At the heart of this survey is Conjoint analysis, which has traditionally (and effectively) been used in the context of brand equity research and new product development research to gain insights into how consumers value products and services. MPR's use of QuestionPro.s Conjoint analysis feature is ground-breaking in the same methodology is applied in real-time as opposed to via after-the-fact reporting. Because the analysis is conducted in real-time, the user is presented with the results instantaneously.
"With the QuestionPro Real-Time Choice Simulator, users are presented with hypothetical products and asked to choose between them - much like how we all do in real-life," said Vivek Bhaskaran, QuestionPro's co-founder and CEO. "We expect the Medical Matchmaker will serve as a powerful example of the ability of sophisticated online survey tools for other researchers, product managers and strategic planners as they look for innovative ways to gain insights and offer products to customers."
"Medical Matchmaker" is an example of a new model for producing news coverage. Known as "Public Insight Journalism," the Minnesota Public Radio model recognizes the vast expertise that lies in the collective experience and knowledge of the audience. The model aims to systematically tap that knowledge, using a variety of techniques including online simulations, to strengthen news reporting, shape coverage decisions and promote community interaction.
About Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio operates a 37-station radio network serving virtually all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and produces programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences. Programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio and its national production and distribution arm, American Public Media(TM), reach 14.1 million listeners nationwide each week. Of those, more than 769,000 listen regionally, in Minnesota and surrounding states. With nearly 88,000 members, Minnesota Public Radio has the highest percentage of listener membership of any community-supported public radio network in the United States. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at http://www.mpr.org and http://www.americanpublicmedia.org.