Background:
With recent enactment of Accountable Care Act, consumer reported patient-provider communication (PPC) assessed by Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (CAHPS) in ambulatory settings is incorporated as a complementary value metric for patient-centered care of chronic conditions in pay-for-performance programs. In this study, we examine the relationship of PPC with select indicators of patient-centered care in a nationally representative adult US population with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
Methods:
The study population consisted of a nationally representative sample of 8223 individuals (age ≥ 18 years) representing 21.6 million with established ASCVD (self-reported or ICD-9 diagnosis) reporting a usual source of care in the 2010-2013 pooled Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) cohort. Participants responded to questions from CAHPS that assess satisfaction with PPC (four-point response scale:
never, sometimes, usually, always
)
:(1)
“How often providers show respect for what you had to say”
(2)
“How often health care providers listened carefully to you”
(3)
“How often health care providers explained things so you understood”
(4)
“How often health providers spent enough time with you”
We developed a
weighted PPC composite score, categorized as 1 (
never
/
sometimes
), 2 (
usually
), and 3 (
always
). Outcomes of interest were 1) patient reported outcomes (PRO):
SF-12 physical/mental health status, 2) quality of care measures: statin and ASA use, 3) health-care resource utilization (HRU): Emergency room visits & hospital stays, 4) total annual and out of pocket healthcare expenditures (HCE).
Results:
As shown in the table, those with ASCVD reporting ineffective (never/sometimes) vs. effective PCC (always) were over 2-fold more likely to report poor PRO, 34% & 22% less likely to report statin and ASA use respectively, had a significantly greater HRU (OR≥ 2 ER visit: 1.40 [95% CI:1.09-1.80], OR≥ 2 hospitalization: 1.35 [95% CI:1.02-1.77], as well as an estimated $1,294 ($121-2468) higher annual HCE.
Conclusion:
This study reveals a strong relationship between patient-physician communication among those with established ASCVD with patient-reported outcomes, utilization of evidence based therapies, healthcare resource utilization and expenditures.
Potential Benefits and Drawbacks of Virtual Clinics in General Surgery: Pilot Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study (Preprint)
