The Effect of Achieving Patient-Reported Outcome Measures on Satisfaction

Article Figures & Data

Table 1. Outcomes Considered Important by Patients with Back or Abdominal Pain, Ranked by Their Importance Ratings^*

Outcome	Importance
1. To find the cause of the pain	4.9
2. To trust that the treatment plan is appropriate	4.7
3. To return to normal life functions	4.7
4. To understand what may happen to you because of the problem	4.6
5. To prevent this problem from occurring again	4.6
6. To prevent long-term loss of function	4.6
7. To return to work and productivity as soon as possible	4.5
8. To experience no complications or side effects	4.3
9. To be assured that no unexpected, unrelated problems develop	4.2
10. To get rapid and complete relief from pain and other symptoms	4.2
11. To avoid being hospitalized	4.1
12. To avoid surgery	4.1
13. To avoid placing a burden or stress on family members	4.1
14. To minimize or avoid the need for further tests and medical visits	3.9
15. To minimize radiation exposure in the course of my care	3.9
16. To avoid personal costs for care	3.9
17. To minimize or avoid use of medication	3.8
18. To return to leisure/sports activities as soon as possible	3.8
19. To minimize discomfort from the tests used to assess the pain	3.7

↵* Ratings were made on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is “not at all important” and 5 is “extremely important.”

Table 2. Characteristics of Survey Completers

	Respondents with Abdominal Pain (n = 201)	Respondents with Back Pain (n = 167)	P Value
Female sex	132 (66)	98 (59)	.17
Age (years), mean (SD)	54.6 (17)	55.7 (16)	.54
Race
White	175 (88)	140 (86)	.56
Hispanic or Latino	10 (5)	6 (4)	.53
Relationship status
Married, living with partner	130 (65)	115 (69)	.14
Separated, divorced, widowed	39 (20)	38 (23)
Never married	30 (15)	14 (8)
Education
High school or less	52 (26)	45 (27)	.70
Some college or tech school	70 (35)	55 (33)
College graduate	52 (26)	40 (24)
Postgraduate degree	24 (12)	27 (16)
Work status
Employed, self-employed	121 (60)	88 (53)	.12
Out of/unable to work	11 (6)	14 (8)
Homemaker	10 (5)	6 (4)
Student	2 (1)	1 (1)
Retired	56 (28)	57 (34)

Data are n (%) unless otherwise indicated. Differences by study group (abdomen or back) were tested using the Pearson χ² test, Fisher exact test, or independent samples t test. SD, standard deviation.

Table 3. Frequency of Achieving Outcomes Important to Patients (Ranked by Importance Rating)

Outcome	Patients with Abdominal Pain (n = 201)	Patients with Back Pain (n = 167)	P Value
Found the cause of the pain	126/201 (63)	131/167 (78)	.001
Trusted that the treatment plan was appropriate	158/183 (86)	127/153 (83)	.40
Returned to normal life function by 1 month	73/115 (63)^*	38/145 (26)^*^{^†}	<.001
Understood (somewhat or very much) what may happen to them because of the problem	142/201 (71)	132/167 (79)	.07
Avoided pain recurrence	101/115 (88)^{^‡}	33/46 (72)^{^‡}	.01
Avoided long-term loss of function	31/42 (74)^{^§}	51/106 (48)^{^†^§}	.005
Returned to work and productivity soon	10/46 (22)^{^†^¶}	10/53 (19)^{^†^¶}	.72
Experienced no complications or side effects related to the cause or treatment of pain	176/192 (92)	88/163 (54)	<.001
Avoided unexpected problems not related to pain	172/192 (87)	154/162 (95)	.01
Got rapid (within 1 week) and complete relief	50/196 (26)^{^†}	8/165 (5)^{^†}	<.001
Avoid hospitalization	180/201 (90)	155/167 (93)	.28
Avoided surgery	167/200 (84)	145/166 (87)	.30
Avoided burden on family	135/201 (67)	81/167 (49)^{^†}	.003
Avoided further tests, visits, treatments	121/196 (62)	76/162 (47)^{^†}	.005
Avoided additional radiation exposure	180/195 (92)	156/164 (95)	.28
Avoided personal costs of care	118/201 (59)	85/166 (51)	.15
Minimized use of medications	122/199 (61)	66/167 (40)^{^†}	<.001
Returned to leisure/sports activities within a few weeks	150/197 (76)	49/166 (30)^{^†}	<.001
Minimized uncomfortable tests or treatment	167/201 (83)	102/167 (61)	<.001

Data are n/N (%).
↵* Limited to patients whose pain interfered with day-to-day functioning at the time of the scan.
↵† <50% Of patients experienced the outcome.
↵‡ Limited to patients whose pain went away completely after the pain episode.
↵§ Limited to patients whose pain interfered with day-to-day functioning at the time of the scan and pain was still affecting functioning 1 month after the scan.
↵¶ Limited to patients who were working outside the home before the pain episode and who missed work or were not fully productive because of pain.

Table 4. Relationship between Achieving Outcomes and Satisfaction with Results of Care (Ranked by Importance of Outcome to Patients)

Outcome	Patients with Abdominal Pain		Patients with Back Pain
Outcome	Very Satisfied (%)	P Value	Very Satisfied (%)	P Value
Found out the cause of the pain
Yes	75	<.01	47	.02
No	44		25
Trusted that the treatment plan was appropriate
Yes	72	<.01	53	<.01
No	24		8
Returned to normal life function by 1 month
Yes	73	.05	66	<.01
No	55		36
Understood what may happen
Some or very much	73	<.01	50	<.01
Not at all	39		11
Avoided recurrence
Yes	77	.29	65	.29
No	64		85
Avoided long-term loss of function
Yes	64	.04	61	<.01
No	27		15
Returned to work and productivity soon
Yes	70	.72	40	.91
No	64		42
Avoided complications/side effects
Yes	64	.26	49	.10
No	50		36
Avoided unexpected problems
Yes	63	.74	44	.14
No	60		12
Got rapid and complete relief
Yes	78	<.01	88	.01
No	57		40
Avoided hospitalization
Yes	63	.73	40	.07
No	67		67
Avoided surgery
Yes	60	.10	40	.13
No	76		57
Avoided burden on family
Yes	70	<.01	44	.52
No	50		40
Minimized medical tests and visits
Yes	69	.07	53	.02
No	56		35
Avoided additional radiation
Yes	63	.80	43	.32
No	67		25
Avoided personal costs of care
Yes	64	.67	42	.97
No	62		42
Minimized use of medications
Yes	58	.06	39	.59
No	71		44
Returned to leisure/sports soon
Yes	67	.09	47	.42
No	53		40
Avoided uncomfortable tests
Yes	63	.85	41	.80
No	62		43