Currently most of the Center's income comes from doing contract surveys for major health plans. In response he founded the publication as a not-for-profit venue for rating professionals in fields including mechanics and plumbers.Ĭompany overview Ĭonsumers' Checkbook and Center for the Study of Services were founded by company President Robert Krughoff after he had a bad auto repair experience. Over time the publication came to also review other professions and services, like physicians. As a part of the intention to provide unbiased information the publication does not carry advertising, but does charge a subscription fee. The first issue of Consumers' Checkbook came out in 1974. The ratings are based on items including surveys of consumers, reports from undercover shoppers, expert surveys, the number of consumer agency complaints against a company or service provider, and an analysis of publicly available databases. The first publication only covered the Washington DC area. In 1982, its first magazine for another city began, focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2003 the company expanded to include publications for Seattle-Tacoma, the Twin Cities, Chicago, the Delaware Valley, and Boston. The formal name of the organization is Center for the Study of Services. Īs of 2018, $9 million of their budget is for customer surveys paid for by over 250 HMO and PPO health plans, and Medicare Advantage and Drug plans. Results are published by Medicare, Office of Personnel Management, U.S. $3 million of the budget is for evaluating local businesses in seven metropolitan areas, paid for by public subscriptions, and published by Checkbook. Resources Ĭonsumers' Checkbook publishes an annual Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees, a health insurance plan cost and quality comparison resource, first publishing the work in 1979. The book is published in paper form, and in 2000 its contents were moved online to. Between 19 the company published Bargains, a publication that focused on price comparisons between retailers in both Washington DC and San Francisco. Between 19, they also published DC and San Francisco versions of a Checkbook Guide to Area Restaurants. In 1994 they began publishing the Consumer's Guide to Health Plans. The company also publishes the Consumers’ Guide to Top Doctors, providing a list of recommended specialists in the 53 largest metro areas of the U.S. as well as the Consumers' Guide to Hospitals, providing ratings for about 4,500 U.S. acute-care hospitals, which it first published in 1988. The Guide to Top Doctors was first published in 1999. All free-to-you resources can be found in the library’s A-Z Online Resources full listing at bit.ly/FCPL_AtoZ.Between 20, the company published “a demonstration project surveying patients about their experience of care with their doctors using the Clinician/Group CAHPS Survey instrument developed by the US Agency for Health Care Research and Quality,” according to Robert Mayer. It can be accessed from anywhere using your library card and an internet connection, making it a 24/7 research stop for your buying needs.Īdditional free-to-you consumer information can be found at bit.ly/FCPL_ConsumerInformation. It must be used in the library.Ĭonsumer Reports provides product reviews for everything from air conditioners to yogurt as well as how-to guides that provide advice for what to consider when making major purchases, such as a car. area and provides advice and reviews on auto services, pet care, florists, dry cleaners and so much more. The library’s subscription is pre-filtered to stores and services in the Washington, D.C. Unlimited Possibilities: Human Services in Fairfax Countyīy Dianne Coan, Technical Operations Division Directorĭid you know that FCPL carries Consumer Reports and Consumers’ Checkbook to help you with your product and service research? Both are available free to you through the library’s subscription.Ĭonsumers’ Checkbook offers price comparisons and unbiased reviews on local businesses and service providers.Friendship, Kindness and Unity Kanopy Style.Adult Short Story Contest: The World We Write.Summer Reading Adventure & Teen Contests.Explore STEAM Activities for Preschoolers.Our Library, Our Stories: Kathleen Graham.
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