Medicare patients who bring a family member or other companion are more satisfied with care

More than one-third of Medicare beneficiaries appear to beaccompanied by family members or companions during medical encounters,according to a report in the July 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine,one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Such medical visit companions may beassociated with improved patient satisfaction, especially amongbeneficiaries in poor health.  Families are increasinglyunderstood to be relevant to patient care, according to backgroundinformation in the article. However, little is known about whichspecific attributes of their involvement are most helpful to patientsor result in the greatest improvements in quality of care.

JenniferL. Wolff, Ph.D., and Debra L. Roter, Dr. P.H., M.P.H., of the JohnsHopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and colleaguesstudied a sample of 12,018 Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older whoparticipated in a 2004 survey. These older adults were representativeof approximately 30 million Medicare beneficiaries living in thecommunity.

The researchers found that:

• 38.6 percent of participants reported regularly being accompanied to medical visits

• Companions included spouses (53.3 percent); adult children(31.9 percent); other relatives (6.8 percent); roommates, friends orneighbors (5.2 percent); non-relatives (2.8 percent); or nurses, nurseaides or legal or financial officers (less than 1 percent)

• 63.8 percent of companions helped with communication,including 44.1 percent who recorded physician comments andinstructions, 41.5 percent who communicated information about thepatient’s medical condition to the physician, 41 percent who askedquestions, 29.7 percent who explained physician’s instructions and 3.3percent who translated the English language

• 28.4 percent of companions were reported to be present forcompany and moral support, 52.3 percent to assist with transportation,16.6 percent to help schedule appointments and 8.4 percent to providephysical assistance

Beneficiaries with regularcompanions were more highly satisfied with their physician’s technicalskills, information-giving and interpersonal skills. Those whosecompanions more actively helped with communication rated theirphysicians’ information-giving and interpersonal skills more favorably.This relationship was stronger among patients who reported themselvesto be in worse health.

Source:  Reuters Health,
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/jaaj-oaw071008.php

Read journal article: http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/168/13/1409