Patients Happy With PCPs But Not Always Following Their Advice Due to Costs

By Clive Riddle, May 19, 2016

The Physicians Foundation has just released a 74-page report with results from their Physicians Foundation Patient Survey conducted by Harris Poll. The report findings state that “95 percent of patients surveyed are satisfied or very satisfied with their PCP’s ability to explain information in a manner they understand, while 96 percent feel their physicians are respectful of them. Moreover, 93 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with how well their PCP listened to them during their most recent exam, with 92 percent noting high levels of satisfaction relative to how well their doctor knew their medical history.”

But the report notes that “patients who saw a primary care physician for their most recent routine exam are not fully adhering to treatment plans, avoiding routine check-ups or opting not to take prescription medication due to rising healthcare costs.”

They cite that “ sixty-two percent of U.S. adults are concerned with being able to pay for medical treatment if they get sick or injured. Almost half (48 percent) are not confident they could afford care should they become seriously ill. In addition, more than a quarter of U.S. adults (28 percent) have skipped a medical test, treatment or follow-up or avoided a visit to the doctor for a medical problem in the past 12 months because of costs. Twenty-seven percent of patients have avoided filling a prescription in the past 12 months, noting costs as a primary factor.”

Who do patients feel are driving these costs? The report says that “59 percent of patients surveyed say it’s the cost of prescription drugs. One-third (33 percent) of patients cited fraud as another contributor factor, followed by social conditions and poverty (28 percent), government mandates (26 percent) and an aging population (25 percent).”

Rip Hollister, MD, a Physicians Foundation board member tells us “patients recognize that there is an array of stakeholders and external influences that affect treatment options and, in effect, clinical autonomy. Historically, treatment plans have been developed between the doctor and patient. Yet, patients understand that there are now many other parties ‘in the room,’ so to speak, which complicates and challenges the manner in which physicians practice medicine.”

In this regard, the report cites how much patients felt each of the following stakeholder groups, as a whole, impacts treatment options available to them:

• Health insurance companies (83 percent)
• Physicians (79 percent)
• Pharmaceutical companies (68 percent)
• Federal legislature (60 percent)
• State legislatures (54 percent)