Construct Validity Testing of the Provider Co-Management Index to Measure Shared Care in Provider Dyads

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Clinical Psychology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Co-management involves the collaborative process between two healthcare providers.
• The Provider Co-Management Index (PCMI) was originally a 20-item instrument with three subscales.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the construct validity of the PCMI using primary care providers.
• To refine the PCMI into a shorter, validated instrument.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was administered to primary care providers in New York State.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on separate subsamples.
• A total of 333 responses were analyzed to determine the instrument's structure.

Main Results:

• The analysis supported a one-factor model with nine items.
• The revised instrument, named PCMI-9, demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha).
• The PCMI-9 utilizes a 4-point Likert-type scale.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully established the construct validity of the PCMI-9 for measuring patient co-management.
• The PCMI-9 is a concise, valid instrument for assessing dyadic provider collaboration.
• Further research is recommended to establish the discriminant validity of the PCMI-9.