Senior Move Managers

Older patients gave their doctors higher marks than they deserved based on a review of whether physicians followed accepted standards for technical quality, according to a study of 236 elderly patients published in the May 2 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The patients, all of whom were enrolled in Medicare managed-care plans, received about 55% of the recommended care for protocols such as prompt medication after heart failure and appropriate evaluation after a fall, the study said. But most patients rated all the health care they received in the past year as 10 out of 10.

Patients are more likely to say they’re highly satisfied if they communicate well or have a good rapport with their doctors, but that doesn’t always correlate with sound care, said Dr. Neil Wenger, the senior author of the report and a general internist at the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center.

Indeed, researchers found a mismatch between patients’ perceptions and the technical quality of care they received, he said.

“This should make us all sort of wake up and say ‘Gee, there’s more to it than just if my doctor’s warm and fuzzy, and I would like some additional information on the quality of care I’m getting to factor in with the fact that this person has good interpersonal skills,’” said Wenger, also a researcher for the Rand Corp.