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Poor communication top reason why patients switch doctors, survey finds
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Sixty percent of glaucoma patients who switch ophthalmologists do so because of a breakdown in doctor-patient communication, according to a poster presentation here.
Results from the Glaucoma Research Foundation Patient Survey were presented during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting by Jane N. Rollins, MSPH. While poor communication is the main reason for seeking care from a new physician, the majority of patients are happy with the care they receive from their ophthalmologist, she said.
A total of 4,310 patients responded to a questionnaire from the Glaucoma Research Foundation, she said. Patients answered a series of questions about glaucoma, their relationship with their current physician and their attitude toward side effects from medication.
Seventy-one percent of patients received care from the same ophthalmologist for the duration of their illness. Patients who switched physicians did so because of poor consultations regarding their illness and treatment regimen (60%), the desire to significantly lower their IOP (20%) or because they incurred side effects with their medication (6%).
Notably, most patients value efficacy in their therapeutic treatments, and 87% of patients reported that they would continue to comply with their treatment regardless of adverse reactions such as hyperemia or iris pigmentation.