“It’s Really Overwhelming”: Patient perspectives on care coordination
Publication Date
2018
Journal Title
J Am Board Fam Med
Abstract
© 2018 American Board of Family Medicine. All Rights Reserved. Purpose: Failures of care coordination among health care providers are known to lead to poorer health outcomes for patients with complex medical needs. However, there has been limited research into the perspectives of patients who receive care from a variety of health care providers. This qualitative study sought to characterize the factors leading to emergency department (ED) patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their care coordination. Methods: Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 25 adult patients following ED visits about their experiences with their care coordination. All patients interviewed had 2 or more ED visits and hospitalizations in the past year and/or health providers in more than one health system. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed following a modified grounded theory approach. Results: Four broad categories of themes emerged from the patient interviews covering the following: (1) perceptions of care coordination between their providers, (2) the role of electronic health records, (3) challenges with information exchange between health systems, and (4) sources of support for care coordination activities, emphasizing the important role of the primary care provider. Conclusions: Patients with multiple health care providers identified significant barriers to communication among providers and inadequate support with care coordination activities. Expansion of team-based models of primary care and prioritizing interoperable technology for sharing patient health information between providers will be critical to improving the patient experience and the safety of transitions of care.
Volume Number
31
Issue Number
5
Pages
682 - 690
Document Type
Article
Status
Faculty
Facility
School of Medicine
Primary Department
Emergency Medicine
Additional Departments
Geriatric and Palliative Medicine; Psychiatry
PMID
DOI
10.3122/jabfm.2018.05.180034