Aligning care with patients' priorities may help lessen treatment burden and reduce the number of unnecessary tests for patients suffering from multiple chronic conditions, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers conducted the study at a multisite primary care practice in Connecticut. The study included 366 patients with three or more chronic conditions, of which 163 received care from providers trained in patient priorities care, which aims to align care with a patient's individualized health priorities. The other 203 received usual care.
The study revealed that health priorities-based decisions were mentioned in clinical visit notes for 108 of 163 of patients receiving patient priorities care versus 0 of 203 usual care patients.
At the nine-month follow-up, the patient priorities care group reported a 5-point greater decrease in Treatment Burden Questionnaire score than those who received usual care, indicating reduced treatment burden.
The patients who received patient priorities care were also more likely to have medications stopped and less likely to have self-management tasks and diagnostic tests ordered as compared to the usual care group.
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