Patients appreciate clear advice, care coordination
Complicated cases, cascades of new technology, and confusing health plan regulations make treatment decisions less than clear for health care providers. That may lead to conflicting information from providers and health care plans.
Health care providers and payers who give the impression that they have matters in control are likely to score high marks for patient satisfaction, according to one recent study.
Influences on patient satisfaction often have little to do with clinical expertise, according to a study by
the Rockville, MD-based Agency for Health Care Policy Research (AHCPR).1 Satisfied patients
frequently are more impressed with
deft coordination of care by their primary care provider than expert treatment by a specialist. The
study says confusing information and uncertainty about who is responsible for coordinating care
contribute to patient dissatisfaction and shade how patients perceive a health plan's performance.
Clear information dissemination is an important factor when patients compare delivery systems, the
study says. Researchers correlated patients' rating of processes of care with the satisfaction of patients
enrolled into two HMOs. The health care plans emphasized the role of primary care physicians to
coordinate care among referral specialists. Unfortunately, 25% of the sample reported an occasion
when they did not know who their responsible practitioner was. Sixteen percent reported that
their practitioner was not aware of certain test results.
To make matters worse, patients often forget or downplay the severity of their condition after they have been cured. Results from another AHCPR study showed that patients interviewed upon entering a hospital for treatment recalled their medical situations differently three months after their hospital stay.2
Only 16.2% of those interviewed three months after their discharge gave the same assessment of their ability to perform basic activities, such as walking indoors, as they did upon admission. Less than two-thirds accurately recalled their mental well-being, such as feeling calm or peaceful.
References
1. Zapka J, Palmer RH, et al. Relationships of patient satisfaction with experience of system performance and health status. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management 1995; 18:73-83.
2. Guadagnoli E, Cleary PD. How consistent is patient-reported pre-admission health status when collected during and after hospital stay? Medical Care 1995; 33:106-112. *
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