Primary care physicians' experience with disease management programs

OBJECTIVE: To examine primary care physicians' perceptions of how disease m anagement programs affect their practices, their relationships with their p atients, and overall patient care. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mailed survey. SETTING: The 13 largest urban counties in California. PARTICIPANTS: General internists, general pediatricians, and family physici ans. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Physicians' self-report of the effects of di sease management programs on quality of patient care and their own practice s. Respondents included 538 (76%) of 708 physicians: 183 (34%) internists, 199 (38%) family practitioners, and 156 (29%) pediatricians. Disease manage ment programs were available to 285 (53%) physicians; 178 had direct experi ence with the programs. Three quarters of the 178 physicians believed that disease management programs increased the overall quality of patient care a nd the quality of care for the targeted disease. Eighty-seven percent conti nued 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%) o r had no effect (48%) on their workload, and increased (48%) their practice satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Practicing primary care physicians have generally favorable pe rceptions of the effect of voluntary, primary care-inclusive, disease manag ement programs on their patients and on their own practice satisfaction.