Physical limitations and perceived quality of care among family medicine patients

OBJECTIVE: To assess how physical limitations relate to patient satisfaction with the quality of medical care among family medicine patients, after adjustment for self-rated overall health and other patient characteristics. DESIGN: A telephone survey of family medicine patients, linked with information extracted from medical records. SETTING: A large family medicine department in Rochester, Minnesota. SUBJECTS: Patient ratings of quality were linked to medical records for 674 adult patients. RESULTS: Adjusting for self-rated overall health status and other confounders using multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that having physical limitations was inversely and independently related to excellent perceived quality (adjusted odds ratio = 0.56, P= 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: In our sample of family medicine patients, people with physical limitations experience a disparity in perceived quality of care.