Concordant and discrepant views of patients' physical functioning

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Patient-Physician Interaction
• Health Outcomes Research

Background:

• Patient-physician interaction is crucial in healthcare, yet discrepancies in assessing physical functioning are understudied.
• Previous research indicated significant differences between rheumatologists and rheumatoid arthritis patients regarding physical function.
• This study aimed to replicate previous findings and explore factors associated with these discrepancies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To replicate findings on discrepancies in physical functioning assessments between rheumatoid arthritis patients and their rheumatologists.
• To investigate the prevalence of such discrepancies.
• To examine relationships between these discrepancies and other patient variables.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study involving 158 rheumatoid arthritis patients interviewed four times over two years.
• Patients reported their physical functioning using the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales.
• Rheumatologists assessed patient physical functioning using American College of Rheumatology criteria at the final interview.

Main Results:

• Physician assessments of physical functioning were discrepant with patient self-assessments in 35% of cases.
• Among discrepant cases, 27 patients were rated as functioning worse than they reported, and 28 were rated as functioning better.
• No significant differences in demographic or health status characteristics were found between concordant and discrepant groups.

Conclusions:

• A notable percentage of rheumatoid arthritis patients experience discrepancies between their self-reported physical functioning and their rheumatologists' assessments.
• These discrepancies do not appear to be associated with patient demographics or overall health status.
• Further research may be needed to understand the clinical implications and underlying reasons for these assessment differences.