Evaluation of patient satisfaction surveys as a Prognostic Tool in geriatric polypharmacy

Abstract

Background: Geriatric polypharmacy is a well-established marker of adverse outcomes, but whether routinely collected patient satisfaction survey scores add independent prognostic information in this population is unclear [1,4].

Objective: To evaluate structured patient satisfaction survey scores as a prognostic tool for twelve-month adverse drug events, unplanned readmission, and functional decline among older adults with polypharmacy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 682 outpatients aged 65 years or older with five or more regular medications, who completed a validated four-domain satisfaction instrument at enrolment and were followed for twelve months, with potentially inappropriate medications screened using STOPP/START criteria [10].

Results: Composite adverse drug event incidence was 34.2% in the lowest satisfaction tertile versus 14.6% in the highest (adjusted OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.74-4.22), with the communication-clarity and care-coordination domains carrying the strongest independent association, and adding satisfaction score improved outcome discrimination beyond comorbidity and medication-count models alone [28,24].

Conclusions: Patient satisfaction survey scores, particularly communication and coordination domains, carry independent prognostic value in geriatric polypharmacy and may help target deprescribing and medication-review resources toward higher-risk patients [12,13].