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Chartbook on Rural Health Care

Person- and Family-Centered Care

Poor Communication With Health Providers

Adults who had a doctor’s office or clinic visit in the last 12 months who reported poor communication with health providers, by residence location, 2002-2012

Graph shows adults who had a doctor’s office or clinic visit in the last 12 months who reported poor communication with health providers, by residence location. Go to table below for details.

Residence Location 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Large Central Metro 12.8 11.3 10.8 11.2 10.8 10.8 10.1 9.5 8.6 9.2 9.1
Large Fringe Metro 10.6 9.8 9.3 8.9 9.3 8.1 8.7 8.2 7.4 7.2 6.8
Medium Metro 9.7 9.2 7.8 9.0 9.7 8.7 9.8 9.0 8.4 8.2 7.3
Small Metro 9.9 7.4 10.0 9.9 8.7 8.5 10.3 10.1 9.1 9.4 8.3
Micropolitan 8.9 8.8 10.0 9.4 10.1 10.3 9.5 9.4 7.9 8.8 7.5
Noncore 10.9 10.3 9.6 8.0 8.7 8.5 7.0 8.5 6.5 6.4 8.8

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2002-2012.
Denominator: Civilian noninstitutionalized population age 18 and over who had a doctor’s office or clinic visit in the last 12 months.
Note: For this measure, lower rates are better. Patients who report that their health providers sometimes or never listened carefully, explained things clearly, showed respect for what they had to say, or spent enough time with them are considered to have poor communication.

  • Importance: Optimal health care requires good communication between patients and providers, yet barriers to provider-patient communication are common. To provide all patients with the best possible care, providers need to understand patients' diverse health care needs and preferences and communicate clearly with patients about their care.
  • Change Over Time: From 2002 to 2012, the percentage of adults who reported poor communication with health providers decreased overall and for all residence location groups except residents of micropolitan and small metropolitan areas.
  • Groups With Disparities: In almost all years, the percentage of adults who reported poor communication with health providers was higher among residents of micropolitan and large central metropolitan areas than among residents of large fringe metropolitan areas (suburbs), but these difference were often not statistically significant due to small sample sizes.

Providers Who Asked for Patient's Help With Treatment Decisions

People with a usual source of care whose health providers sometimes or never asked for the patient’s help to make treatment decisions, residence location, 2002-2012

Graph shows people with a usual source of care whose health providers sometimes or never asked for the patient’s help to make treatment decisions, residence location. Go to table below for details.

Residence Location 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Large Central Metro 25.6 21.2 19.8 18.8 19.0 16.8 16.9 14.9 14.5 16.1 13.2
Large Fringe Metro 21.1 17.4 17.8 16.4 17.5 14.9 16.3 14.5 11.7 13.4 13.0
Medium Metro 20.5 18.7 16.1 18.3 15.9 17.7 14.5 15.9 13.4 13.3 11.5
Small Metro 20.1 17.9 18.4 14.9 14.9 16.4 17.4 18.9 14.7 14.2 13.4
Micropolitan 18.6 17.8 16.9 16.4 18.1 14.2 12.9 14.5 12.1 13.6 13.3
Noncore 20.7 18.3 13.5 13.9 14.5 12.7 12.9 16.5 12.3 14.8 9.6

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2002-2012.
Note: For this measure, lower rates are better.

  • Importance: The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases has placed more responsibility on patients, since conditions such as diabetes and hypertension require self-management. Patients need to be provided with information that allows them to make educated decisions and feel engaged in their treatment.
  • Change Over Time: From 2002 to 2012, the percentage of people whose health care providers sometimes or never asked them to help make treatment decisions decreased overall and for all residence location groups.
  • Groups With Disparities: In almost all years, the percentage of people whose health care providers sometimes or never asked them to help make treatment decisions was higher among residents of large central metropolitan areas than among residents of large fringe metropolitan areas (suburbs), but these difference were often not statistically significant due to small sample sizes.

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Page last reviewed August 2015
Page originally created September 2015

The information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only.

 
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