Patients who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to manage their health care report better health care experiences than less "activated" patients seeing the same providers, a new Health Affairs study finds.
The research, conducted by George Washington University's Jessica Greene, Ph.D., and colleagues and supported by The Commonwealth Fund, suggests that patients' care experience ratings, which are increasingly being linked to physician payment, are shaped by providers and patients alike. Highly engaged patients seem to be proactive in getting the care they need. Less activated ones are likely more passive with their clinicians, who in response may be less inclined to adopt a collaborative approach to their treatment.
Efforts to improve patients' experiences should focus not just on providers, the authors say, but on helping patients get what they need from their providers. Visit commonwealthfund.org to learn more.
