Table 4.

Summary of Qualitative Findings Related to Factors Respondents Considered When Assessing Patient Representation

Coded Theme	Coding Frequency
Things patients want to know	33
What are the representative’s qualifications?*	12
I would like more information in general	7
What does the board do?*	6
Who is on the board?*	3
How can I connect with the representatives?	2
How was the representative selected?*	3
Keys to success	79
There should be more than one patient representative	39
Success depends on who the patient representative is	20
Patient representatives should be representative of the population served	3
Patient representatives should reflect diversity	2
Transparency	5
Ensure the patient representative connects with patients	3
Ensure full participation of the representatives	2
Rotate patient representatives after a fixed term	4
Patients should choose their patient representative	1
A patient representative is important	66
Offers general patient input	60
Is critical to the success of the ACO	3
Having some representation is better than none	1
Helps represent my needs*	1
Improves trust*	1
Expressing skepticism about patient representation, in concept or in practice	64
Representatives may be unable to influence the board*	16
One patient cannot represent all patients	13
Being on a board is not something for a patient to do	8
A patient representative may be overly self-focused	4
As an individual, I do not need this	9
It would be better to spend resources elsewhere	10
The representative may be chosen for public relations purposes	4
Not coded	84
Total	326

Note. Rows with * relate to the six postulated factors reported in Table 1; rows without * therefore represent additional insights. ACO = accountable car organization.