Communication, continuity and coordination of care are the most important patients' values for family medicine in a fee-for-services health system

Abstract

Background: Representing 60% of medical consultations in Switzerland, primary care holds an important place in our medical system. Patients' values in family medicine (FM) are nowadays recognized as important factors to take into account in order to provide good quality of care. The aim of this study is to describe patients' most important values regarding FM and to assess their associations with socio-demographics factors in a fee-for-services health system. Methods: We analyzed the Swiss 2012 study on Quality and Costs of Primary Care (QUALICOPC). Two-hundred patients, randomly drawn, answered a questionnaire about their values regarding FM just after their consultation. Explored values were related to communication and patient-centeredness care, continuity and coordination, care access, and patients' activation. We described values reaching more than 50% of "very important". Then, multivariate analyses were performed for the most important value of each dimension. Results: Items related to "communication and patient-centeredness care" and "coordination and continuity of care" are the most recurrently mentioned as "very important". Items related to access and patients' activation are generally declared as "very important" by less than 50% of patients. Whatever the domain and the item, women systematically grant items more often as "very important" than men. Variations are observed according to the age, and the presence or not of a chronic disease. Conclusion: Such dimensions should be subject to a special attention by general practitioners and public health authorities as it might enhance the quality of care and the patients' satisfaction.