MS PATIENTS’ SATISFACTION AND PERCEPTION OF PROVIDER TEAMWORK IN A MULTIDISCIPLINARY CLINIC VERSUS STANDARD CARE

Abstract

There is a paucity of research exploring Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients’ perception of teamwork and satisfaction in multidisciplinary care models and no studies have evaluated the impact of a doctor of medicine (MD) neurology provider and a physical therapist (PT) assessing patients contiguously at one visit. The purpose of this project was to compare MS patient perception of provider teamwork and satisfaction in the multidisciplinary clinic (MD and PT) to standard care. MS is a complex neurological disease with deleterious impacts on both mental and physical functioning. Patient satisfaction has been linked to better MS outcomes such as fewer relapses and lower disability scores (Haase, Kullmann, & Ziemssen, 2016). While studies have also shown the benefit of adding rehabilitative interventions throughout the disease course, a study of MS patients by Finlayson, Plow, and Cho (2010) found only 36% utilized PT services. This descriptive comparative study used a convenience sample to compare MS patient satisfaction and perception of provider teamwork in two groups: one taking part in a multidisciplinary clinic (MD and PT), and another receiving standard care (MD only). A total of 36 MS patients completed the study; 18 in the multidisciplinary clinic and 18 in standard care. Patient perception of teamwork (using the Patient’s Insight and Views of Teamwork instrument), and patient satisfaction, were significantly higher in the multidisciplinary clinic (Mann-Whitney U = 10.5, p