Patient Satisfaction With Medical Care for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pain Research Registry Study
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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.
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Physician empathy is strongly associated with satisfaction with pain care.
“Physician empathy is another aspect of the patientphysician relationship that is strongly associated with satisfaction with pain care [13,14].”
From The process and outcomes of chronic low back pain treatment provided by osteopathic and allopathic physicians: a retrospective cohort study (2023) · cites this paper as [14]
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- Authors
- Licciardone, J. C., Patel, S., Kandukuri, P., Beeton, G., Nyalakonda, R., & Aryal, S.
- Affiliations
- University of North Texas Health Science Center (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Venue
- The Annals of Family Medicine
- Publisher
- Annals of Family Medicine
- Published
- 2023-03
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 125-131
- ISSN
- 1544-1709 (ISSN-L)
- 1544-1717
- PMC
- PMC10042573
- OpenAlex
- W4360991788
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 2.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Annals of Family Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Keywords
- chronic low back pain, patient satisfaction, physician empathy, physician communication, opioid prescribing, health-related quality of life, physical function, pain intensity, chronic pain management
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analgesics, Opioid, Cross-Sectional Studies, Empathy, Humans, Physician-Patient Relations, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Quality of Life, Patient Satisfaction, Low Back Pain, Chronic Pain
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