Case Study: Do Patient Requests Affect Doctor's Decisions? - An Experiment
| At a Glance |
Research Question
We propose to: a) describe how different primary care physicians respond to specific prescription requests from different patients (factorial experiment); and b) explain the reasons why they do so (“think aloud” qualitative techniques).
NERI's Role
NERI has developed the factorial experimental approach using carefully constructed clinical vignettes to understand what contributes to variations and disparities in clinical decisions.
Results
This study is currently conducting field work. If successful, this project will provide important information about what factors (patient, physician or organization/system) contribute individually or in combination to variations in clinical decisions.
Funding Institution
This research is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
|
Research Question
The U.S. healthcare environment has changed dramatically in the last several decades. Patients are increasingly knowledge-empowered (through internet access) and “activated” (through direct advertising) to seek care from physicians who face increasing external pressures. Using complementary research methods (factorial experimentation and rigorous qualitative research) we propose to: a)
describe how different primary care physicians respond to specific prescription requests from different patients (factorial experiment); and b)
explain the reasons why they do so (“think aloud” qualitative techniques).
NERI's Role
NERI has developed the factorial experimental approach using carefully constructed clinical vignettes to understand what contributes to variations and disparities in clinical decisions. This study combines qualitative and quantitative methods within a single study.
Results
This study is currently conducting field work. If successful, this project will provide important information about what factors (patient, physician or organization/system) contribute individually or in combination to variations in clinical decisions.