Death by patient satisfaction

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  • August 6, 2018 at 12:00 am #89097
    nittany ram
    Moderator

    A doctor’s take on one of the problems with healthcare in the US.

    Link: https://opmed.doximity.com/death-by-patient-satisfaction-169e6c21887d

    August 6, 2018 at 12:58 am #89103
    zn
    Moderator

    Nittany you’re in the medical industry.

    How accurate a picture is that?

    ..

    August 6, 2018 at 2:06 pm #89122
    nittany ram
    Moderator
    zn wrote:

    Nittany you’re in the medical industry.

    How accurate a picture is that?

    ..

    It’s an accurate depiction of the direction US healthcare is going.

    I’m on several committees at the hospital in which I work and everything we do is geared towards patient satisfaction.

    My wife is a physician. She pointed the article out to me. Her pay is directly tied to patient satisfaction. Her performance can be reviewed by patients after their visit. She’s actually rated by the number of stars she receives, where the patient can give her 1 to 5 stars depending on their level of satisfaction. On the surface this doesn’t seem like a bad thing, but the problem is that what makes the patient happy might not be what’s in the patient’s best interest. For example, when patients feel sick, they want an antibiotic. An antibiotic may not be warranted, but it doesn’t matter, if the patient doesn’t receive an antibiotic, the physician might get a bad rating. So the physician is under pressure to prescribe an unnecessary drug. Physicians know the ramifications of improperly used antibiotics (increased resistance) and are cautioned by their employers not to prescribe them when not necessary, but at the same time the employer is going to base the physician’s job performance, salary, and even employment on patient satisfaction. It puts be physician in a no-win situation. And this is just one example.

    Of course, the bottom line is, the patient may not be receiving the best possible care.

    August 7, 2018 at 9:58 am #89145
    PA Ram
    Participant

    Every time I go to a doctor visit I get an email to fill out a satisfaction survey. Now I know why.

    By the way, I never fill them out.

    "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. " Philip K. Dick

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