Table 3.

Consequences of Healthcare Fragmentation, as Reported by Patients and Providers

Theme	Subtheme
Positive (desirable) consequences	1. Appropriate medical consultation (different specialty) 2. Higher patient satisfaction 3. Strengthened relationship between patient and primary care physician (when consulting physician agrees with primary care physician’s assessment)
Negative (undesirable) consequences	4. Conflicting advice 5. Disruption to patient-primary care provider relationship 6. Drug-drug interactions 7. Failure to detect clinical patterns 8. Gaps in clinical information 9. Higher cost for healthcare overall 10. Higher out-of-pocket costs for patients 11. Inadvertent prescribing of duplicate medications 12. Inappropriate referrals 13. Increased risk of being sued for malpractice due to gaps in information 14. Loss of revenue from time spent addressing fragmentation 15. Medication errors 16. Misdiagnosis, or failure to identify the correct diagnosis 17. More medications prescribed inappropriately 18. More patient time used 19. More provider time used 20. More referrals made unnecessarily 21. More tests ordered and completed unnecessarily 22. More unnecessary visits 23. Poor patient outcomes 24. Provider burnout

Consequences are listed in alphabetical order within theme