Chronically ill Australians' satisfaction with accessibility and patient-centredness

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Research
• Health Services Research
• Patient Experience Studies

Background:

• Patient assessments are crucial for evaluating healthcare quality.
• Understanding factors influencing these assessments is vital for service improvement.
• General practice quality is multifaceted, encompassing access and patient-centeredness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between patient and general practice characteristics and patient-reported quality of care.
• To identify specific patient and practice attributes associated with perceived access to care and patient-centeredness.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 96 general practices and 7505 adult patients with chronic illnesses in Australia.
• Data collected using the General Practice Assessment Survey.
• Multilevel regression analysis applied to assess associations between patient/practice factors and quality of care outcomes.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis identified 'Access of care' and 'Patient-centredness' as key quality dimensions.
• Smaller practices (1-3 GPs) reported better access than larger ones.
• Urban patients reported higher satisfaction with patient-centered care than rural patients.
• Positive associations found between quality scores and self-reported health status and age.
• Negative associations found with home ownership, employment, education, and non-English speaking background.
• Females reported higher satisfaction with patient-centeredness.

Conclusions:

• Patient perceptions of primary care quality, particularly access and patient-centeredness, are significantly influenced by both patient demographics and general practice characteristics.
• These findings underscore the importance of considering patient and practice attributes when interpreting quality assessments.
• The results provide valuable insights for developing targeted policies and interventions to enhance primary care quality.