Are Patients Equally Satisfied with Advanced Practice Providers Compared with Surgeons in a Pediatric Fracture Clinic?

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether patient satisfaction, as measured by the National Research Corporation Connect Scorecard, was equivalent for advanced practice providers (APPs) and pediatric orthopaedic fellowship–trained surgeons (MDs). Methods: Scorecard results from both APP and MD fracture clinics were compiled from August 2015 to August 2017. APPs (n = 12) had 17,402 independent fracture clinic visits with 4,243 scorecards completed; MDs (n = 10) had 11,623 fracture clinic visits with 2,282 scorecards completed. Scores were compared using the t test. Results: APPs had higher mean patient satisfaction scores in every category when compared with MDs. Statistically significantly higher APP scores were seen for “Provider spent enough time with patient” (85.4 vs. 80.7, p = 0.032), “Provider showed respect for what patient said” (96.0 vs. 93.4, p = 0.020), and “Provider Communication Composite” (92.1 vs. 89.4, p = 0.022). APPs with > 6 years of pediatric orthopaedic experience had higher scores in every category when compared with APPs with < 6 years of experience. Statistically significantly higher scores were seen for experienced APPs compared with less experienced APPs for “Provider explained things understandably” (p = 0.019), “Provider listened carefully” (p = 0.025), “Provider knew medical history” (p = 0.023), and “Provider Communication Composite” (p = 0.019). Conclusions: Patients are equally satisfied with pediatric orthopaedic APPs when compared with pediatric orthopaedic surgeons for their child's fracture care; in fact, APPs may have higher communication skills compared with physicians. With the increasing shift in pediatric fracture care from the general orthopaedist to the pediatric orthopaedists' office, APPs can treat pediatric fractures without a decrease in patient satisfaction.