Patient Satisfaction Scores and Standard of Care Compliance in Patients on Biologic Therapy for Psoriasis

Abstract

Background Under the Affordable Care Act, patient satisfaction scores are used to determine reimbursements. There are limited data studying the correlation of patient satisfaction with physician adherence to standard of care practice. Objective To examine the correlation between patient satisfaction scores and provider adherence to tuberculosis (TB) monitoring in psoriasis patients on biologic therapy. Methods A multicenter retrospective chart review was conducted evaluating physicians’ compliance with TB testing. TB testing compliance was measured and Press Ganey scores of providers from the same time period were obtained. Results The correlation constant among providers was 0.41, suggesting no linear relationship between compliance and patient satisfaction scores. Conclusions This study did not show a correlation between increased patient satisfaction scores and adherence to appropriate medical standards of care. This contributes to the body of evidence suggesting that these scores are an unsuitable determinant of physician compensation. Further studies controlling multiple variables and with greater power are needed.