Understanding patient-physician communication is essential to developing policies that measure how well the healthcare system delivers care. This study sought to determine which, if any, demographic factors were independently associated with how patients in the US perceived various aspects of communication with their providers. The study was a cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative data from the 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Among American adults who had visited a healthcare provider in the past year ( n = approximately 16,700), the association between several co-variable demographic and socioeconomic factors and four dependent measures of patients' perceptions of communication with their healthcare providers was assessed. Across all four measures of communication, older patients were more likely to report positive views. Having health insurance and a usual source of care were consistent predictors of positive perceptions of communication. Patients of Hispanic origin also reported better perceptions of communication across all four measures. The most economically disadvantaged patients were less likely to report that providers always explained things so that they understood. Male patients were more likely to report that providers always spent enough time with them. This study suggests that patients' perceptions of communication in healthcare settings vary considerably depending on demographics and other individual patient characteristics. This article discusses the relevance of these differences in communication to the design of policies to improve healthcare systems, both at the individual practice level and at the national level.
Measuring patients' perceptions of communication with healthcare providers: do differences in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics matter?
16 December 2022