Physician attitudes towards chronic disease management in the USA

Whereas physician support of disease management (DM) is recognized as important for improving the quality and effectiveness of care of individuals with chronic illness, little is known about physicians' perceptions of the model or their likelihood of adoption. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted of a 2008 nationally representative sample of practising physicians in the USA who had been exposed to DM programmes (n = 1615) to determine their support for DM and how attitudes differ across physicians. Results indicated that the majority of physicians believe in the quality enhancing benefits of DM programmes, but there are systematic differences in the attitudes towards DM of different types of physicians. Physicians affiliated with health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and hospital-based practices are more likely than other physicians to agree that DM programmes improve their ability to provide high-quality care to patients with chronic conditions. Minority physicians and physicians who perceive their market as more competitive, have a more positive attitude towards DM than white physicians and physicians in less competitive markets. International medical graduates hold relatively positive attitudes about the benefits of DM programmes and older physicians are more likely than their young peers to approve of DM and physicians. Physicians with a higher percentage of patients with chronic conditions are more likely to have a favourable view of DM. Specialty physicians are more likely to have a positive view of DM, and DM-exposed physicians are more likely to perceive that DM programmes lead to improved quality of care. Future study is needed to determine the reasons for these differences in attitudes and whether they can be modified by targeted information.