The ‘Consumer Confidence’ Of Health Care Executives

Most people are familiar with the measurement of consumer confidence. The measure is a standard economic indicator about the degree of optimism that consumers feel about the overall economy and their personal financial situation. Consumer confidence typically increases when the economy expands, and vice versa. However, consumer confidence is considered to be a lagging indicator – which means that it is a measurable factor that changes only after economy has begun a specific trend.

So is there an equivalent to “consumer confidence” in health and human services? What do executives think about the current state of the field? It's hard . . .