Dataset Information

Is patient insurance type related to physician recommendation, administration and referral for adult vaccination? A survey of US physicians.

ABSTRACT: This study evaluated physician practices and perceived barriers for influenza, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap), and zoster vaccination of adults in the United States (US), with emphasis on patients with Medicare versus commercial insurance. A cross-sectional internet-based survey of board-certified general/family practitioners and internists (N = 1,000) recruited from a national US physician panel was conducted in May 2017. For influenza, rates of physician recommendation (84% of Medicare patients, 82% of commercially-insured patients), administration (80% Medicare, 78% commercial), and referral (11% Medicare, 11% commercial) were similar regardless of insurance type. Tdap recommendation was higher for commercial compared to Medicare patients (59% vs. 54%, p < 0.001); while zoster recommendation was higher for Medicare patients than commercial (59% vs. 55%, p < 0.001). For Tdap and zoster, higher administration rates were reported in commercial patients (64% Tdap, 36% zoster) than Medicare (56% Tdap, 32% zoster), and referral rates were higher for Medicare patients (19% Tdap, 49% zoster) than commercial (14% Tdap, 42% zoster). Over 40% of physicians would be much more likely to administer Tdap and zoster vaccines if they were covered under Medicare Part B, with more physicians indicating financial barriers as "major" or "moderate" for Medicare than commercial patients. These differences may be related to financial barriers associated with adult vaccinations that are covered under Medicare Part D and involve patient out-of-pocket costs. Efforts to reduce financial barriers associated with adult vaccinations covered under Medicare Part D and to improve patient and physician knowledge could positively impact physician recommendation, administration, and referral for adult vaccination in the US.

SUBMITTER: McNamara M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6773384 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Is patient insurance type related to physician recommendation, administration and referral for adult vaccination? A survey of US physicians.

McNamara Michelle M Buck Philip O PO Yan Songkai S Friedland Leonard R LR Lerch Kristin K Murphy Alysa A Hogea Cosmina C

Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 20190320 9

This study evaluated physician practices and perceived barriers for influenza, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap), and zoster vaccination of adults in the United States (US), with emphasis on patients with Medicare versus commercial insurance. A cross-sectional internet-based survey of board-certified general/family practitioners and internists (N = 1,000) recruited from a national US physician panel was conducted in May 2017. For influenza, rates of physician recommendation (84% of Medicare ...[more]

PMID: 30785363

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Project description:ImportanceTiered physician network (TPN) health plans sort physicians into tiers based on their cost and quality, and patients pay lower copays for visits with physicians in the lower-cost and better-quality tiers. When the plans are first introduced, they lead patients to seek care from higher-value physicians.ObjectivesTo examine whether TPNs are associated with patient choice of physician when the plans have been in place for 8 to 12 years and whether there are inequities in patient out-of-pocket costs associated with inequities in access to physicians in lower-copay tiers.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study comprising 46 645 physicians and 585 399 patients in TPNs, including 54 683 patients who had a new patient visit with a physician in a TPN, used health insurance claims data from a large employer purchaser from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2019. Statistical analysis was performed from November 2020 to August 2023.ExposureEvaluation and management visit with a physician in a TPN.Main outcomes and measuresMain outcomes were new patient market share per physician-carrier-zip code-year, distance from centroid of patient zip code to centroid of zip code of nearest low- or medium-copay physician, and mean TPN physician office visit copay per patient. A regression discontinuity design was used to estimate the association of a physician's tier ranking, and a difference-in-differences analysis was used to estimate the association of copayment differences across tiers with market share among new patients. Equity in access was measured by comparing travel distance to the nearest physician in a low-copay or medium-copay tier and mean copayments across patient incomes.ResultsThe main analysis sample included 46 645 physician-carrier-zip code-year observations, 9506 (20.4%) of which were in the low-copay tier, 31 798 (68.2%) in the medium-copay tier, and 5341 (11.5%) in the high-copay tier. The 54 683 new patients in the sample had a mean (SD) age of 46.4 (16.7) years and included 33 542 women (61.3%). There was no association of having a worse tier ranking (0.045 percentage points [95% CI, -0.058 to 0.148 percentage points]) or of copayment differences between tiers (0.001 percentage points [95% CI, -0.002 to 0.004 percentage points]) with physician market share among new patients. The patients with the lowest income paid slightly lower mean (SD) copayments for office visits to a TPN physician than the patients with high income ($48.08 [$16.42] vs $51.59 [$16.79], a 6.8% difference).Conclusions and relevanceIn this cross-sectional study of TPN health plans, there was no association between physician tier ranking and physician market share among any group of patients. These findings suggest there are limitations in TPNs' steering of patients toward high-value physicians. These plans were not associated with exacerbated health inequity in this setting.

Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy remains high in the general population and is the main determinant of low vaccination rates and of the fourth pandemic wave severity in Romania. Additional information is needed to raise awareness over vaccine efficiency and the safety profile.ObjectiveTo assess self-reported experience related to COVID-19 vaccination in Romanian physicians.Design, setting, and participantsA cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire-based survey, distributed online in the period 24 March to 24 May 2021. The survey included 30 cascade questions with skip logic filters. All physicians included filled in the questionnaire voluntarily and anonymously. Not all respondents filled in all questions. Main outcome and measure: Primary outcomes addressed were related to the COVID-19 vaccine safety profile.Results407/467 (87.15%) of the respondents' physicians were fully vaccinated, mostly with the Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty)-BNT162b2 vaccine, with the peak of immunization in January 2021, with almost four-fifths of the study participants. Regarding COVID-19, almost 20% physicians had the infection and one declared COVID-19 re-infection. A number of 48/420 (11.42%) and 47/419 (11.22%) of the vaccinated physicians did not report any side effects after the first or second vaccine dose. However, most of the side effects reported were minor. Only 50/360 (13.88%) physicians reported the vaccine side effects on the dedicated online national platform. Approximately 40% respondents checked the anti-spike SARS-CoV2 antibodies' titer after complete vaccination, of which two cases reported indeterminate levels. Lower anti-spike SARS-CoV2 antibodies' titer of 100-1000 times the laboratory limit was more frequent in naive physicians (36.95% versus 14.28%, p = 0.012), moderate titers were similar, while very high levels, more than 10,000 times laboratory limit, were more frequent in physicians with previous COVID-19 infection (2.17% versus 42.85%, p < 0.001).Conclusions and relevanceIn this cross-sectional survey study on the COVID-19 vaccination among Romanian physicians, we describe a safety vaccination profile among Romanian physicians.

Project description:Background:The Allergy Patient Identification for Immunotherapy (AsPIRe) program was a parallel physician and patient survey. The objectives were to examine physician and patient perceptions of seasonal allergy symptoms and their impact on patients, and to examine patient and physician attitudes to allergen immunotherapy (AIT) for seasonal allergies. AsPIRe was led by a steering committee and received research ethics board clearance from Queen's University. Methods:Allergists (17) from across Canada enrolled in the AsPIRe program and completed an on-line survey to collect demographic information and baseline perceptions. Allergists then recruited patients and completed paper-based parallel physician and patient questionnaires. Patients received an AIT informational booklet with their questionnaire. Patients who were AIT-naïve with no contraindication to AIT and 12 years of age and older met the inclusion criteria. Results:The survey was in field from February 2018 to June 2018. A total of 141 allergist surveys and 136 patient surveys were completed. Mean age of patients was 30 years old (range 12-70). Fifty-seven percent of patients reported prior knowledge of AIT. Seventy-two percent of patients reported seasonal allergies of longer than 5 years duration and in this subset of patients, 46% were at their first allergist visit. Seventy-three percent of all patients indicated they would be likely or very likely to try sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), if recommended by their allergist compared to 36% for subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT). Conversely, 10% of patients reported they would be unlikely or very unlikely to try SLIT compared to 46% of patients who would be unlikely or very unlikely to try SCIT if recommended by their allergist. Conclusions:In this particular study cohort, there was a gap in perception between allergists and their patients as to the impact of allergy symptoms on daily life. Patients reported being more frequently impacted vs. their physician's assessment. When asked about preference for AIT options, Canadian patients reported they were more likely to follow their allergists' recommendation for initiation of SLIT compared to SCIT.

Project description:BackgroundThe Chinese healthcare system is affected by frequent disputes between physicians and patients. Although recent reforms have contributed towards improving the patient-physician relationship, distrust in physicians is still high. Communication skills (CS) training of physicians holds the key to improving patient confidence and diffusing stressful situations. This survey reports on the status of CS training in medical education in China, and the experiences and attitudes of physicians towards CS training.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted at medical institutions across China. A questionnaire developed for this study included the status of CS training, current aspects of patient-physician relationships, perceived own CS and patient-centeredness with Likert-scaled items from 1 (most negative) to 6 (most positive). Physicians' attitude towards CS training was measured with the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) and its subscales PAS (Positive Attitude Scale) and NAS (Negative Attitude Scale). Data were analyzed descriptively and for group differences between the hospital level and operating vs. non-operating physicians. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to find associations explaining the occurrence of verbal and physical attacks and the role of CS attitudes.ResultsOut of 1080 questionnaires, 772 physicians met inclusion criteria. A total of 466/772 participants (60.4%) had received at least one CS training during their career. The participants rated the current situation related to patient-physician relationship in China as highly stressful (mean = 4.52, SD = 1.26, 95% CI: 4.43-4.60), experiencing verbal attacks in the past three years once a year in 372/772 cases (48.2%) and physical attacks 111/772 times (14.4%). The mean PAS was 62.96 (SD = 7.63, 95% CI: 62.41-63.47). Being female was associated with increased risk of verbal attacks (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.01-2.25) while working in a tertiary hospital and showing high levels of PAS decreased this risk (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.43-0.89, and OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.98). Having received a previous CS training decreased the odds of physical attacks (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35-0.83).ConclusionsA majority of Chinese physicians showed a high positive attitude towards CS training, were trained in CS and would value further training. Our results highlight that CS training is likely to promote patient-centered communication and reduce attacks against physicians. Both of these effects are to improve the patient-physician-relationship in the long run. More CS training should be offered to Chinese physicians, especially at secondary- and primary-care hospitals, where such practices remain infrequent.

Project description:ObjectiveMost scholarly attention to studying collaborative ties in physician networks has been devoted to quantitatively analysing large, complex datasets. While valuable, such studies can reduce the dynamic and contextual complexities of physician collaborations to numerical values. Qualitative research strategies can contribute to our understanding by addressing the gaps left by more quantitative approaches. This study seeks to contribute to the literature that applies network science approaches to the context of healthcare delivery. We use qualitative, observational and interview, methods to pursue an in-depth, micro-level approach to the deeply social and discursive processes that influence patterns of collaboration and referral decision-making in physician networks.DesignQualitative methodologies that paired ethnographic field observations, semistructured interviews and document analysis were used. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse, identify and describe patterns in those data.SettingThis study took place in a high-volume cardiovascular department at a major academic medical centre (AMC) located in the Midwest region of the USA.ParticipantsPurposive and snowballing sampling were used to recruit study participants for both the observational and face-to-face in-depth interview portions of the study. In total, 25 clinicians and 43 patients participated in this study.ResultsTwo primary thematic categories were identified: (1) circumstances for external engagement; and (2) clinical conditions for engagement. Thematic subcategories included community engagement, scientific engagement, reputational value, experiential information, professional identity, self-awareness of competence, multidisciplinary programmes and situational factors.ConclusionThis study adds new contextual knowledge about the mechanisms that characterise referral decision-making processes and how these impact the meaning of physician relationships, organisation of healthcare delivery and the knowledge and beliefs that physicians have about their colleagues. This study highlights the nuances that influence how new collaborative networks are formed and maintained by detailing how relationships among physicians develop and evolve over time.

Dataset Information

Is patient insurance type related to physician recommendation, administration and referral for adult vaccination? A survey of US physicians.

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Is patient insurance type related to physician recommendation, administration and referral for adult vaccination? A survey of US physicians.

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