Quality metrics are increasingly used to measure physician quality and impact reimbursement. Are patients familiar with GI quality metrics and does this play a role in how they select a colonoscopist?
A study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology surveyed 417 patients before screening or surveillance colonoscopy at university hospitals, community hospitals and ambulatory endoscopy units. The researchers found:
• 20 percent of patients researched their physicians ratings
• 88 percent of patients were familiar with bowel preparation quality measures
• 30 percent of patients were familiar with adenoma detection rate quality measures
• 26 percent of patients were familiar with cecal intubation rate quality measures
• 21 percent of patients were familiar with withdrawal time quality measures
• 96 percent of patients considered ADR reporting to other physicians was "important" or "very important"
• 87 percent of patients listed primary care physician referral as the first or second most important consideration in selecting a colonoscopist.
The researchers concluded that patients place primary care physician referral as the most important factor in colonoscopist selection, and quality metric knowledge remains relatively low. The authors suggested primary care physicians have an important role to play in educating patients on the importance of quality metrics.