Improved Diagnostic Testing Boosts Patient Experience, Study Finds

Abbott recently released research from its multi-year global research program, which found that advancing diagnostic testing for vascular diseases can help hospitals and physicians improve the patient experience. 

In the program, Beyond Intervention, Abbott secured feedback from over 1,800 patients with cardiovascular disease, physicians, and healthcare leaders. 

Overall, researchers found a growing demand for an industry-wide standard in technology to optimize the patient experience and enable physicians to make faster and more accurate diagnoses and referrals. 

In the study, over a third of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) stated they have to “constantly” provide medical information to physicians. And 35 percent of providers and hospital leaders believe that this lack of integration causes early and accurate diagnosis inefficiencies. 

Specifically, female patients with PAD reported more challenges than males. And issues of health equality, including socioeconomic status, age, and gender, were notable barriers as well. 

Natalia Pinilla-Echeverri, MD, assistant professor of medicine at McMaster University in Canada, and interventional cardiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences, emphasized that inherent biases can hinder a physician’s ability to detect and recognize symptoms, especially for populations that have been historically misdiagnosed. 

The study also found that administrators and patients reported differing views on the current patient experience. 

For example, healthcare administrators are more likely to rate patient experience for individuals suffering from cardiovascular disease as more positive (65 percent) than the patients’ own ratings  (38 percent). 

But advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, can optimize diagnosis and identify patient symptoms that may have been previously undetected or passed over. 

The results from the study can help health systems and hospitals improve overall patient care.

“The latest data from the Beyond Intervention initiative reveals diverging views between patients and healthcare administrators on how each views the patient experience and the impact of inequities across the healthcare continuum,” Nick West, MD, chief medical officer and divisional vice president of medical affairs at Abbott’s vascular business, said in the announcement. 

“This research solidifies the need for physicians to leverage innovative technologies to improve the ability to make and communicate a diagnosis as early as possible in the patient journey,” West continued.