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: Tags: Health Care Pharmaceuticals drug safety patient care syndicated Source Type: blogs