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The impact of expressions of treatment efficacy and out-of-pocket expenses on patient and physician interest in osteoporosis treatment: implications for pay-for-performance programs.

ABSTRACT: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are increasingly used as the basis for pay-for-performance (P4P) programs. It is unclear how support for guidelines varies when treatment efficacy is expressed in varying mathematically equivalent ways.To assess: (1) how patient and provider compliance with osteoporosis CPGs varies when pharmacotherapy efficacy is presented as relative risk reduction (RRR) versus absolute risk reduction (ARR) and (2) the impact of increasing out-of-pocket drug expenditures on acceptance of guideline concordant therapy.Cross-sectional survey of patients and physicians.Female patients age >50 years and providers drawn from academic and community outpatient clinics.Patient and provider acceptance of pharmacotherapy when treatment efficacy (reduction in hip fractures) was expressed alternatively in relative terms (35% RRR) versus absolute terms (1% ARR); acceptance of pharmacotherapy as patient drug copayment increased from 0% to 100% of the total drug costs.Compliance with CPGs fell significantly when the expression of treatment benefit was switched from RRR to ARR for both patients (86% vs 57% compliance; P < .001) and physicians (97% vs 56% compliance; P < .001). Increasing drug copayment from 0% to 10% of total drug cost decreased patient compliance with CPGs from 80% to 57% (P < .001) but did not impact physician compliance. With increasing levels of copay, both patient and provider interest in treatment decreased.Respondents may not have fully understood the risks and benefits associated with osteoporosis and its treatment.Patient and provider interest in CPG-recommended treatment for osteoporosis is reduced when treatment benefit is expressed as ARR rather than RRR. In addition, minimal increases in drug copayment significantly decreased patient, but not provider, interest in osteoporosis treatment. Designers of P4P programs should consider details including expressions of treatment benefit and patients' out-of-pocket costs when developing measures to assess quality-of-care.

SUBMITTER: Sinsky CA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2359179 | biostudies-other | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:ImportanceOne-third of US residents have trouble paying their medical bills. They often turn to their physicians for help navigating health costs and insurance coverage.ObjectiveTo determine whether physicians can accurately estimate out-of-pocket expenses when they are given all of the necessary information about a drug's price and a patient's insurance plan.Design, setting, and participantsThis national mail-in survey used a random sample of US physicians. The survey was sent to 900 outpatient physicians (300 each of primary care, gastroenterology, and rheumatology). Physicians were excluded if they were in training, worked primarily for the Veterans Administration or Indian Health Service, were retired, or reported 0% outpatient clinical effort. Analyses were performed from July to December 2020.Main outcomes and measuresIn a hypothetical vignette, a patient was prescribed a new drug costing $1000/month without insurance. A summary of her private insurance information was provided, including the plan's deductible, coinsurance rates, copays, and out-of-pocket maximum. Physicians were asked to estimate the drug's out-of-pocket cost at 4 time points between January and December, using the plan's 4 types of cost-sharing: (1) deductibles, (2) coinsurance, (3) copays, and (4) out-of-pocket maximums. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess differences in performance by specialty, adjusting for attitudes toward cost conversations, demographics, and clinical characteristics.ResultsThe response rate was 45% (405 of 900) and 371 respondents met inclusion criteria. Among the respondents included in this study, 59% (n = 220) identified as male, 23% (n = 84) as Asian, 3% (n = 12) as Black, 6% (n = 24) as Hispanic, and 58% (n = 216) as White; 30% (n = 112) were primary care physicians, 35% (n = 128) were gastroenterologists, and 35% (n = 131) were rheumatologists; and the mean (SD) age was 49 (10) years. Overall, 52% of physicians (n = 192) accurately estimated costs before the deductible was met, 62% (n = 228) accurately used coinsurance information, 61% (n = 224) accurately used copay information, and 57% (n = 210) accurately estimated costs once the out-of-pocket maximum was met. Only 21% (n = 78) of physicians answered all 4 questions correctly. Ability to estimate out-of-pocket costs was not associated with specialty, attitudes toward cost conversations, or clinic characteristics.Conclusions and relevanceThis survey study found that many US physicians have difficulty estimating out-of-pocket costs, even when they have access to their patients' insurance plans. The mechanics involved in calculating real-time out-of-pocket costs are complex. These findings suggest that increased price transparency and simpler insurance cost-sharing mechanisms are needed to enable informed cost conversations at the point of prescribing.

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The impact of expressions of treatment efficacy and out-of-pocket expenses on patient and physician interest in osteoporosis treatment: implications for pay-for-performance programs.

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