Predictors of patient satisfaction and health care costs for patients with fibromyalgia

Abstract

Patient satisfaction may be defined as the extent to which a patient believes that his or her health care needs are met and whether their preferences are considered. Early research focused on sociodemographic variables as correlates of patient satisfaction, and recently psychosocial variables have received attention. The present study was an examination of members of a health maintenance organization who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). It was hypothesized that demographic, health and psychosocial variables would predict patient satisfaction, and in turn that patient satisfaction would predict health care costs. Multiple regression analyses indicated that greater satisfaction with social support and higher scores on agreeableness were associated with greater patient satisfaction, although only 13% of the variance in patient satisfaction was explained. Future studies of patient satisfaction should examine physicians’ attitudes and behaviors along with those of patients.

Keywords:

• Patient satisfaction
• Health care costs
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic pain

Acknowledgments

Preparation for this article was supported by NIH grant AR-44020. We thank the people at Kaiser Permanente for their cooperation and assistance in conducting this study.

Notes

*p<0.05;

**p<0.01;

^aEducation coded as 1 = high school or less, 2 = some college, 3 = college degree or more.