Does capitation payment under national health insurance affect subscribers' trust in their primary care provider? a cross-sectional survey of insurance subscribers in Ghana.

Francis-Xavier Andoh-Adjei,Felix Ankomah Asante,Dennis Cornelissen,Ernst Spaan,Koos Van Der Velden

doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1622-0

Abstract

BackgroundGhana introduced capitation payment for primary care in 2012 with the view to containing escalating claims expenditure. This shift in provider payment method raised issues about its potential impact on patient-provider trust relationship and insured-patients’ trust in the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme. This paper presents findings of a study that explored insured-patients’ perception about, and attitude towards capitation payment in Ghana; and determined whether capitation payment affect insured-patients’ trust in their preferred primary care provider and the National Health Insurance Scheme in general.MethodsWe adopted a survey design for the study. We administered closed-ended questionnaires to collect data from insurance card-bearing members aged 18 years and above. We performed both descriptive statistics to determine proportions of observations relating to the variables of interest and chi-square test statistics to determine differences within gender and setting.ResultsSixty-nine per cent (69 %) out of 344 of respondents selected hospital level of care as their primary care provider. The two most important motivations for the choice of a provider were proximity in terms of geographical access (40 %) and perceived quality of care (38 %). Eighty-eight per cent (88 %) rated their trust in their provider as (very) high. Eighty-two per cent (82 %) actively selected their providers. Eighty-eight per cent (88 %) had no intention to switch provider. A majority (91 %) would renew their membership when it expires. Female respondents (91 %; n = 281) were more likely to renew their membership than males (87 %; n = 63). Notwithstanding capitation payment experience, 81 % of respondents would recommend to their peers to enrol with the NHIS with rural dwellers (87 %; n = 156) being more likely to do so than urban dwellers (76 %; n = 188). Almost all respondents (92 %) rated the NHIS as (very) good.ConclusionHealth Insurance subscribers in Ghana have high trust in their primary care provider giving them quality care under capitation payment despite their negative attitude towards capitation payment. They are guided by proximity and quality of care considerations in their choice of provider. The NHIA would, however, have to address itself to the negative perceptions about the capitation payment policy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1622-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

Ghana introduced capitation payment for primary care in 2012 with the view to containing escalating claims expenditure
This paper presents findings of a study that sought to explore insured-patients’ perception about, and attitude towards capitation payment in Ghana; and to determine whether capitation payment affect their trust in their preferred primary care providers (PPP) and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in general
The economic and quality of care consideration that guided subscribers’ choice of provider suggests that they intuitively understand that the cost of health care services is the amount of money that they pay at the health facilities or the premium they pay to the insurance scheme and the incidental and opportunity costs that come with attending facilities that are too distant from one’s place of residence and seeking care from providers who may fall short of providing quality care

Summary

Introduction

Ghana introduced capitation payment for primary care in 2012 with the view to containing escalating claims expenditure This shift in provider payment method raised issues about its potential impact on patient-provider trust relationship and insured-patients’ trust in the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme. This paper presents findings of a study that explored insured-patients’ perception about, and attitude towards capitation payment in Ghana; and determined whether capitation payment affect insured-patients’ trust in their preferred primary care provider and the National Health Insurance Scheme in general. This paper presents findings of a study that sought to explore insured-patients’ perception about, and attitude towards capitation payment in Ghana; and to determine whether capitation payment affect their trust in their preferred primary care providers (PPP) and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in general. They concluded that “understanding patients’ trust (...) can lead to changes in health care delivery that protect doctor-patient relationship” and that it could help “identify physician and patient behaviours that tend to promote or block patient trust.” Patient-provider trust relationship is very crucial to effective healthcare systems

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