Ninety-two
percent of patients say they have a positive patient-provider relationship, but
many also worry about high healthcare costs.
By Sara Heath
October 23, 2019
- Nearly all patients are satisfied with their patient-provider
relationships, but the looming specter of increasing healthcare costs is
leaving most worried about the future of their care, according to the 2019
Physicians Foundation Survey of America’s Patients.
The survey, which
includes responses from 2,000 adult patients and was conducted in partnership
with Regina Corso Consulting, outlined the specific concerns and challenges
facing patients in the healthcare industry.
And while patients
are able to boast a good relationship with their doctors, the list of positive
findings ends there, the survey showed. Patients are experiencing issues with
the rising cost of healthcare, while the opioid epidemic and political questions
about the future of healthcare policy run rampant.
“The Physicians
Foundation’s survey is meant to be a comprehensive look at patients’ views on
multiple aspects of our health care system; however, it’s clear that costs,
policy issues and the opioid epidemic are areas of concern,” Gary Price, MD,
president of The Physicians Foundation, said in a statement.
Seventy-three percent
of patient respondents said they are concerned about their ability to afford an
unexpected medical expense, with 42 percent saying they would only be able to
afford a $500 surprise medical bill. Eighty-four percent of respondents said
they are worried that healthcare costs will impact them in the future.
Healthcare costs are
also harming patient medical care, or at least patients are perceiving it as
such. Eighty-six percent said high costs are negatively impacting their care,
while 72 percent said waiting for health insurance approvals takes away from quality care.
High prescription
drug costs and hospital costs are largely to blame, with 62 percent and 49
percent of patients reporting such, respectively.
The opioid crisis is
also a pervasive issue in the US healthcare system, patient respondents said.
About one-third of patients said they know someone who has experienced or is
experiencing opioid use disorder, and 21 percent said they know someone who has
died because of opioid use.
And as a result, most
patients agree with expanded care access to help treat opioid use disorder and
related conditions. Sixty percent of patients believe rehabilitation services
are essential to patient care, while 45 percent believe the same about SUD
treatment and 69 percent believe the same about mental healthcare access.
Fifty-three percent
of patients blame pharmaceutical companies for the opioid crisis while 39
percent blame physicians for their role in the opioid epidemic. To their
credit, separate studies conducted by the Physicians Foundation have revealed
that 69 percent of providers are cutting down on opioid prescribing.
Regardless of that
blame, patients are reporting good relationships with their providers and place
trust in their providers as their advocates.
“The survey also
shows that patients want their physicians to assume greater leadership roles in
advocating for solutions to these pressing issues,” Price said.
Ninety-one percent of
patients believe that physicians should be able to influence the healthcare
industry. Seventy-one percent said the ultimate decisions about patient care
should be made by patients and their providers, with providers having the
authority to overrule any decisions made by insurance agencies.
Patient interactions
with their doctors are not perfect, however. The survey also revealed that
patients aren’t getting enough time with their doctors, with 65 percent saying
this happens at least sometimes and 22 percent said it happens all the time.
Patients are also
looking for their doctors to discuss lifestyle issues and the social determinants of health, with 77
percent saying their doctors should be collecting and using this information.
Overall, however,
patients are placing trust in their providers, with more than half saying
doctors can significantly influence the healthcare policy conversation.
“Patients want us as
their advocates and believe physicians should have a great deal of influence on
our health care system because we have patients’ best interests at heart,” said
Price. “We cannot sit idly by as our patients are negatively impacted by
ill-informed policy reform. The physician-patient relationship should be at the
forefront of our health care system with the goal of driving down costs while
improving the delivery of high-quality care for all people.”
This will become
especially important as healthcare maintains its center-stage role in
presidential and political debates, the survey indicated. Patients by and large
do not understand some of the proposals being brought to the forefront, with 22
percent saying they don’t know what a single payer health system means.
Seventy-seven percent of patients could not agree on a definition for single
payer healthcare.
That said, most
patients suggested they would not favor a single payer system, with 55 percent
saying they would be most likely to vote for a candidate who advocated for
private insurance reforms.
“It is clear, now
more than ever, patients need our support. They need direct and open
communication about the very real issues facing them today,” Price concluded.
“From costs, to the impending presidential election and the opioid epidemic,
it’s time our health care system takes into account the patient voice if we
hope to move the needle on health care reform. More than ever, physicians need
to show critical leadership on these issues.”
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