High self-assessment of disability and the surgeon's recommendation against surgical intervention may negatively impact satisfaction scores in patients with spinal disorders

Abstract

OBJECT: Patient satisfaction scores have become a common metric for health care quality. Because satisfaction scores are right-skewed, even small differences in mean scores can have a large impact. Little information, however, is available on the specific factors that play a role in satisfaction in patients with spinal disorders. The authors investigated whether disability severity and the surgeon's recommendation for or against surgical intervention were associated with patient satisfaction scores. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study involving adult patients who were referred to a spine surgeon for an outpatient evaluation of back pain. Patients completed the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) before their clinic appointment and a Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey after their visit. Patients were grouped by self-assessed disability severity: mild to moderate (ODI < 40%) and severe (≥ 40%). Satisfaction scores were graded from 0 (very poor) to 100 (very good). Nonparametric tests were used to evaluate the association between patient satisfaction and current disability self-assessment. The authors also investigated whether the surgeon's recommendation against surgery negatively affected patient satisfaction. RESULTS: One hundred thirty patients completed the ODI questionnaire before and satisfaction surveys after seeing a spine surgeon for a new outpatient back pain consultation. Of these, 68 patients had severe disability, 62 had mild to moderate disability, 67 received a recommendation for surgery, and 63 received a recommendation against surgery. Composite satisfaction scores were lower among patients who had severe disability than among those with mild to moderate disability (median [interquartile range]: 91.7 [83.7-96.4] vs 95.8 [91.0-99.3], respectively; p = 0.0040). Patients who received a recommendation against surgery reported lower satisfaction scores than those who received a recommendation for surgery (91.7 [83.5-95.8] vs 95.8 [88.5-99.8]; p = 0.0059). CONCLUSIONS: High self-assessment of disability and a surgeon's recommendation against surgical intervention are associated with lower satisfaction scores in patients with spinal disorders.