Depressed Psoriasis Patients More Likely to Report Low Patient Satisfaction

Patients with psoriasis and mental health comorbidities are more likely to report lower satisfaction with their clinicians that those who do not have mental health symptoms, according to the results of a recent study.

“How patients' mental health is associated with their satisfaction with physicians is rarely studied among adults with skin conditions,” the researchers wrote.
They conducted a retrospective survey analysis using 14 years of nationally representative longitudinal data from the 2004-207 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The Kessler 6-Item Psychological Distress Scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire 2 were used to measure mental health comorbidities.

The study included a weighted total of 8,876,767 US adults with psoriasis (unweighted total, 652 patients). Of these, 27% had moderate or severe symptoms of psychological distress and 21% had moderate or severe symptoms of depression.

Overall, patients with moderate or severe psychological distress symptoms reported being less satisfied with their clinicians than those without or with mild psychological symptoms. Specifically, patients with moderate or severe symptoms were 2.8 and 2.3 times more likely to report low satisfaction than those without symptoms or with mild symptoms, respectively.

“This study suggests that patients with greater psychological distress and depression report lower satisfaction with their clinicians than those without such mental health symptoms. Clinicians need to be adaptable and supportive when communicating with patients with mental health comorbidities. Evaluating clinician performance solely based on patient satisfaction can be problematic and incomplete,” the authors concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:
Read C, Armstrong AW. Association between the mental health of patients with psoriasis and their satisfaction with physicians. Published online May 6, 2020. JAMA Dermatol. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.1054