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Protocol - Healthcare Communications

Description

MEPS is a SAQ that aims to understand how people feel about their health and health care by assessing prior experiences with doctors or other health professionals in the last 12 months.

Specific Instructions

None

Availability

Protocol

These questions ask about your own health care. Do not include care you got when you stayed overnight in a hospital. Do not include the times you went for dental care visits.

In the last 12 months, did a doctor or other health provider give you instructions about what to do about a specific illness or health condition?

[ ] Yes → Go to 2
[ ] No → If No, go to 4

In the last 12 months, how often were these instructions easy to understand?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health providers ask you to describe how you were going to follow these instructions?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

In the last 12 months, did you have to fill out or sign any forms at a doctor’s or other health provider’s office?

[ ] Yes → Go to 5
[ ] No → If No, go to 6

In the last 12 months, how often were you offered help in filling out a form at the doctor’s or other health provider’s office?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health professionals explain things in a way that was easy to understand?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health professionals listen carefully to you?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health professionals show respect for what you had to say?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

In the last 12 months, how often did doctors or other health professionals spend enough time with you?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

When you answer the next questions, do not include dental visits or care you got when you stayed overnight in a hospital.

Specialists are doctors like surgeons, heart doctors, allergy doctors, skin doctors, and other doctors who specialize in one area of health care. In the last 12 months, did you make any appointments to see a specialist?

[ ] Yes → Go to 11
[ ] No → If No, please go to the “Date completed” boxes below

In the last 12 months, how often did you get an appointment to see a specialist as soon as you needed?

[ ] Never
[ ] Sometimes
[ ] Usually
[ ] Always

Date Completed: __ __/__ __ /__ __ __ __(MM/DD/YYYY)

Who completed this form?
[ ] Person named on front of this form
[ ] Someone else, → Go to next

If Someone Else, what is person’s relationship to the person named on the front of this form?
[ ] Husband or wife
[ ] Unmarried partner
[ ] Son or daughter
[ ] Other relative
[ ] Not related

Personnel and Training Required

None

Equipment Needs

None

Requirements

Requirement Category	Required
Major equipment	No
Specialized training	No
Specialized requirements for biospecimen collection	No
Average time of greater than 15 minutes in an unaffected individual	No

Mode of Administration

Self-administered questionnaire

Lifestage

Adult

Participants

Adults aged 18 years or older

Selection Rationale

The MEPS Adult SAQ is a validated, widely used tool that assesses quality of communication and patient centeredness.

Language

English, Spanish

Standards

Standard	Name	ID	Source
Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC)	PhenX - healthcare communications protocol 281101	105485-7	LOINC

Derived Variables

None

Process and Review

Not Applicable

Protocol Name from Source

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Adult Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ)

Source

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), MEPS, Adult SAQ, 2019, Your Health Care in the Last 12 Months Module, question numbers 17-25, Getting Health Care from a Specialist Module, question numbers 28-29.

General References

Carroll, W., & Rhoades, J. (2013, May). Access and experiences regarding health care: estimates for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population age 18 and older, 2010. [Statistical Brief #406]. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/ st406/stat406.pdf

Hong, Y. R., Holcomb, D., Bhandari, M., & Larkin, L. (2016). Affordable Care Act: comparison of healthcare indicators among different insurance beneficiaries with new coverage eligibility. BMC Health Services Research, 16, 114. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1362-1

Levine, D. M., Linder, J. A., & Landon, B. E. (2016). The quality of outpatient care delivered to adults in the United States, 2002 to 2013. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(12), 1778-1790. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.6217

Protocol ID

281101

Variables

Export Variables

Variable Name	Variable ID	Variable Description	dbGaP Mapping
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Complete_Date
	PX281101120000	Date Completed	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Complete_Date_Who
	PX281101130000	Who completed this form?	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Complete_Date_Who_Relationship
	PX281101140000	If Someone Else, what is person's more relationship to the person named on the front of this form? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Doctor_Explain_Easy_Understand
	PX281101060000	In the last 12 months, how often did doctors more or other health professionals explain things in a way that was easy to understand? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Doctor_Instructions_Illness_Condition
	PX281101010000	In the last 12 months, did a doctor or other more health provider give you instructions about what to do about a specific illness or health condition? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Doctor_Instructions_Illness_Condition_Describe_Follow
	PX281101030000	In the last 12 months, how often did doctors more or other health providers ask you to describe how you were going to follow these instructions? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Doctor_Instructions_Illness_Condition_Understand
	PX281101020000	In the last 12 months, how often were these more instructions easy to understand? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Doctor_Listen_Carefully
	PX281101070000	In the last 12 months, how often did doctors more or other health professionals listen carefully to you? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Doctor_Show_Respect
	PX281101080000	In the last 12 months, how often did doctors more or other health professionals show respect for what you had to say? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Doctor_Spend_Time
	PX281101090000	In the last 12 months, how often did doctors more or other health professionals spend enough time with you? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Sign_Forms_Doctor_Office
	PX281101040000	In the last 12 months, did you have to fill more out or sign any forms at a doctor's or other health provider's office? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Sign_Forms_Doctor_Office_Help
	PX281101050000	In the last 12 months, how often were you more offered help in filling out a form at the doctor's or other health provider's office? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Specialist_Appointment
	PX281101100000	Specialists are doctors like surgeons, heart more doctors, allergy doctors, skin doctors, and other doctors who specialize in one area of health care. In the last 12 months, did you make any appointments to see a specialist? show less	N/A
PX281101_Healthcare_Communications_Specialist_Appointment_Needed
	PX281101110000	In the last 12 months, how often did you get more an appointment to see a specialist as soon as you needed? show less	N/A

Individual Social Determinants of Health

Measure Name

Healthcare Communications

Release Date

December 14, 2022

Definition

The communications that occur during a healthcare visit can affect a person’s ability to understand the providers’ instructions and next steps in their care.

Purpose

To assess whether an individual’s experiences in an outpatient medical care visit in the past 12 months, included effective communications, e.g., whether instructions were easy to understand and whether the provider listened.

Keywords

Access, health care, services, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, MEPS, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, specialists, accessibility, availability, Access to Health Care

Measure Protocols

Protocol ID	Protocol Name
281101	Healthcare Communications

Publications

Burnett-Bowie, S. A. M., et al. (2024) The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Task Force on clinical algorithms for fracture risk report. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 2024 May; 39(5): 517-530. doi: 10.1093/jbmr/zjae048

Bartholomew, T. S., et al. (2024) Project CHARIOT: study protocol for a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study of comprehensive tele-harm reduction for engagement of people who inject drugs in HIV prevention services Addiction Science & Clinical Practice. 2024 March; 19(1). doi: 10.1186/s13722-024-00447-9