Patient experience of service quality predicts CRC survival

(HealthDay)—For patients with colorectal cancer, satisfaction with quality of care is associated with survival, according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Journal for Healthcare Quality.

Digant Gupta, M.D., M.P.H., from the Cancer Treatment Centers of American in Schaumburg, Ill., and colleagues examined the correlation between patient-reported experience with service quality and survival using data from 702 returning colorectal cancer patients treated from July 2007 to December 2010. Patient experience was assessed using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied. Responses were dichotomized into completely satisfied versus not completely satisfied.

The researchers found that 506 patients were completely satisfied and 196 were not. In univariate analysis, the risk of mortality was significantly lower for those who were completely satisfied versus those who were not (hazard ratio, 0.78; P = 0.04). The association persisted after multivariate adjustment for stage at diagnosis, treatment history, age, and gender (hazard ratio, 0.74; P = 0.02).

"Based on this provocative observation, it is reasonable to suggest that further exploration of a possible meaningful relationship between patient perceptions of the care they have received and outcome in this malignancy is indicated," the authors write.