Patient Satisfaction With Medical Care for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pain Research Registry Study

John C Licciardone, Salman Patel, Prathima Kandukuri, George Beeton, Ramyashree Nyalakonda, Subhash Aryal, John C Licciardone, Salman Patel, Prathima Kandukuri, George Beeton, Ramyashree Nyalakonda, Subhash Aryal

Abstract

Purpose: The process and outcomes of delivering medical care for chronic low back pain might affect patient satisfaction. We aimed to determine the associations of process and outcomes with patient satisfaction.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of patient satisfaction among adult participants with chronic low back pain in a national pain research registry using self-reported measures of physician communication, physician empathy, current physician opioid prescribing for low back pain, and outcomes pertaining to pain intensity, physical function, and health-related quality of life. We used simple and multiple linear regression models to measure factors associated with patient satisfaction, including a subgroup of participants having both chronic low back pain and the same treating physician for >5 years.

Results: Among 1,352 participants, only physician empathy (standardized β, 0.638; 95% CI, 0.588-0.688; t = 25.14; P < .001) and physician communication (standardized β, 0.182; 95% CI, 0.133-0.232; t = 7.22; P < .001) were associated with patient satisfaction in the multivariable analysis that controlled for potential confounders. Similarly, in the subgroup of 355 participants, physician empathy (standardized β, 0.633; 95% CI, 0.529-0.737; t = 11.95; P < .001) and physician communication (standardized β, 0.208; 95% CI, 0.105-0.311; t = 3.96; P < .001) remained associated with patient satisfaction in the multivariable analysis.

Conclusions: Process measures, notably physician empathy and physician communication, were strongly associated with patient satisfaction with medical care for chronic low back pain. Our findings support the view that patients with chronic pain highly value physicians who are empathic and who make efforts to more clearly communicate treatment plans and expectations.

Keywords: chronic low back pain; opioid prescribing; patient satisfaction; physician communication; physician empathy.

© 2023 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow of participants. PRECISION = Pain Registry for Epidemiological, Clinical, and Interventional Studies and Innovation. Note: Participants were not required to have a physician who treated their low back pain when the registry was established in 2016, and data on the patient-physician relationship were not routinely collected until later that year.

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