Patient Satisfaction and the Possibility of Bad Medicine
In the March 18, 2016, AMA Wire Practice Perspective entitled
“When Patient Satisfaction Is Bad Medicine”
,
Drs. Joan Papp (Case Western Reserve University) and Jason Jerry (Cleveland
Clinic) make the argument that the institutional drive for higher patient
satisfaction scores on Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and
Systems (HCAHPS) questionnaires may be contributing to the opioid prescription
drug crisis nationwide. They note the results of an Ohio State Medical
Association-Cleveland Clinic Foundation survey 1,100 Ohio physicians:
… 98 percent of the
physicians who participated reported that they felt increased pressure to treat
pain, and 74 percent reported that they felt an increased pressure to prescribe
opioids because of the perverse pain management incentives in the patient
satisfaction surveys.
Additionally, 67 percent of respondents “agreed
that, in general, physicians in the United States over-prescribe controlled
substances to treat pain.”
Drs.
Papp and Jerry pointed to HCAHPS questions 2 and 3 specifically that may be a
factor:
(1) “During this hospital stay, did you need
medicine for pain?” Patients can answer “yes” or “no.” (2) “During this
hospital stay, how often was your pain well controlled?” Patients can answer
“never,” “sometimes,” “usually” ...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Bioethics Today Tags: Health Care Pharmaceuticals drug safety patient care syndicated Source Type: blogs
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