S u m m a ry Health care systems in many parts of the world are undergoing organisational change. In Britain, the establishment of new organisations following the National health Service (NHS) reforms of 1990 has led to a change and a greater diversity in the nomenclature of health bodies. An important but often overlooked consequence of such change is the extent to which the public, as consumers of services, can recognise health organisations by their names. We investigated this in a study in the North east of England in early 1994. Eleven hundred respondents were asked to identify their local health authority, acute hospital and community health service provider. Mean scores for correct identification were: health authorities (or consortia of health authorities) 32%; acute hospitals 36% ; community units 19%. Worst performing organisations scored very high 'don't know' responses: worst performing health authority 52%; acute hospitals 59%; community unit 48%. This survey demonstrates that the names chosen for themselves by health care organisations can convey little meaning to the public. This is an area which needs attention if health care systems are to create a culture in which they regard their patients as informed consumers.
