Primary care physicians' experience with disease management programs

OBJECTIVE: To examine primary care physicians' perceptions of how disease management programs affect their practices, their relationships with their patients, and overall patient care. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mailed survey. SETTING: The 13 largest urban counties in California. PARTICIPANTS: General internists, general pediatricians, and family physicians. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Physicians' self-report of the effects of disease management programs on quality of patient care and their own practices. Respondents included 538 (76%) of 708 physicians: 183 (34%) internists, 199 (38%) family practitioners, and 156 (29%) pediatricians. Disease management programs were available to 285 (53%) physicians; 178 had direct experience with the programs. Three quarters of the 178 physicians believed that disease management programs increased the overall quality of patient care and the quality of care for the targeted disease. Eighty-seven percent continued to provide primary care for their patients in these programs, and 70% reported participating in major patient care decisions. Ninety-one percent reported that the programs had no effect on their income, decreased (38%) or had no effect (48%) on their workload, and increased (48%) their practice satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Practicing primary care physicians have generally favorable perceptions of the effect of voluntary, primary care-inclusive, disease management programs on their patients and on their own practice satisfaction.