Are Healthy People Happier With Their Health Care?

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 07 Jan 2008 - 3:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Health plans and programs such as Medicare and Medicaid want to know how satisfied patients are with their medical care. Patient satisfaction information is collected routinely through surveys. It is assumed that patient satisfaction results from the provision of quality health care. Is it possible that factors unrelated to quality of care also drive patient satisfaction?

Hong Xiao and Janet Barber's study, "The Effect of Perceived Health Status on Patient Satisfaction," published recently in Value in Health, examined the impact of patients' self-perceived health condition on reported patient satisfaction.

Using 1999 data from a national survey for 4,417 adults aged 35-64, Drs Xiao and Barber measured three dimensions of patient satisfaction: access, interpersonal interaction and quality of care. They found that patients who perceive themselves in better health are more likely to report higher levels of patient satisfaction, when controlling for other factors.

Furthermore, the study showed that other patient characteristics, such as age and marital status also affect patient satisfaction. These observations suggest that patient satisfaction should be interpreted cautiously when comparing health plans or providers on health care quality.

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 3,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently.

Value in Health Volume 11 Issue 5
ABSTRACT

http://www.ispor.org