Table 3.
Length of Time Spent on Discussing Each Topic (GEE with Log Link)
| Model 4 | Model 5 | Model 6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coef. | S.E. | Coef. | S.E. | Coef. | S.E. | |
| Topic initiation time | ||||||
| Between 5 ~ 10 minutes | −0.451 | 0.065** | −0.242 | 0.070** | −0.039 | 0.078 |
| Between 10 ~ 15 minutes | −0.442 | 0.089** | −0.310 | 0.092** | −0.063 | 0.096 |
| Beyond 15 minutes | −0.392 | 0.085** | −0.238 | 0.114* | 0.029 | 0.111 |
| Topic initiator | ||||||
| Patient initiated topic | 0.121 | 0.059* | 0.105 | 0.056 | ||
| Nature of Topic | ||||||
| Physical aches and pain | 0.134 | 0.080 | 0.143 | 0.078 | ||
| Gynecological and genitourinary problem | 0.173 | 0.181 | 0.230 | 0.173 | ||
| Prognosis, health status | −0.145 | 0.230 | −0.268 | 0.223 | ||
| Test and diagnostic procedure | −0.212 | 0.120 | −0.195 | 0.120 | ||
| Appointment, referral | −0.302 | 0.125* | −0.358 | 0.133** | ||
| Findings from exam, test results | 0.010 | 0.144 | 0.009 | 0.132 | ||
| Medications | −0.230 | 0.083** | −0.197 | 0.086* | ||
| Preventive medical measures | −0.523 | 0.118** | −0.461 | 0.119** | ||
| Personal habits | −0.391 | 0.160* | −0.368 | 0.166* | ||
| Living will, death, bereavement | −0.330 | 0.288 | −0.263 | 0.315 | ||
| Care-giver, physical home, environment, family | −0.017 | 0.136 | −0.079 | 0.142 | ||
| Health care system, money and benefits | −0.975 | 0.137** | −1.082 | 0.141** | ||
| Intellectual exchange, small talk | −0.827 | 0.140** | −0.908 | 0.153** | ||
| Work and leisure activities, religion | −0.404 | 0.140** | −0.436 | 0.144** | ||
| Activity of daily living, age | −0.226 | 0.360 | −0.135 | 0.363 | ||
| Psychological pain, suffering, concerns | 0.102 | 0.326 | 0.234 | 0.280 | ||
| Depression: not limited to diagnosed depression | 0.139 | 0.255 | 0.124 | 0.248 | ||
| General anxiety and worries, emotional distress | −0.144 | 0.209 | −0.145 | 0.199 | ||
| Physician’s personal life | −0.791 | 0.160** | −0.879 | 0.170** | ||
| Physician -patient relationship | −0.511 | 0.236* | −0.544 | 0.239* | ||
| Leading causes of disabilities | ||||||
| Arthritis/Musculoskeletal | 0.219 | 0.086* | 0.134 | 0.086 | ||
| Heart/and Circulatory | 0.156 | 0.091 | 0.065 | 0.090 | ||
| Diabetes | 0.314 | 0.129* | 0.204 | 0.135 | ||
| Mental Illness | 0.547 | 0.183** | 0.435 | 0.174* | ||
| Lung | 0.179 | 0.130 | 0.083 | 0.126 | ||
| Cumulative # of leading causes of disability§ | −0.163 | 0.032** | −0.062 | 0.032 | ||
| Physician Characteristics | ||||||
| Female | 0.183 | 0.075* | 0.171 | 0.077* | ||
| Internist | 0.074 | 0.055 | 0.074 | 0.051 | ||
| Older than 45 years of age | −0.168 | 0.074* | −0.158 | 0.073* | ||
| Patient Characteristics | ||||||
| SF36 physical health component | −0.006 | 0.003 | −0.004 | 0.003 | ||
| SF36 mental health component | −0.003 | 0.003 | −0.002 | 0.002 | ||
| 65 ~ 75 years of age | −0.138 | 0.149 | −0.096 | 0.112 | ||
| 76 ~ 85 years of age | −0.080 | 0.152 | −0.037 | 0.116 | ||
| Older than 85 years of age | −0.213 | 0.169 | −0.146 | 0.135 | ||
| African American | −0.210 | 0.241 | −0.121 | 0.195 | ||
| Female | 0.066 | 0.069 | 0.038 | 0.072 | ||
| Had More than Enough Money | −0.068 | 0.061 | −0.051 | 0.057 | ||
| Patient-Physician Dyad Characteristics | ||||||
| Same race | 0.116 | 0.085 | 0.103 | 0.077 | ||
| Same gender | −0.055 | 0.070 | −0.052 | 0.073 | ||
| Years Patient Had Seen this Physician | −0.004 | 0.004 | −0.003 | 0.003 | ||
| Practice Site | ||||||
| Academic Medical Center | 0.479 | 0.083** | 0.454 | 0.077** | ||
| Inner City FFS Solo Practices | 0.079 | 0.271 | −0.055 | 0.230 | ||
| Artificial variable for “importance” | 1.017 | 0.164** | ||||
| Constant | 4.385 | 0.068** | 6.101 | 0.322** | 5.192 | 0.327** |