Table 3. Physician opinion(s) regarding non-medical switching.
| Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following related to non-medical switching and your professional experience | % of Physicians Surveyed Responding “Agree Strongly”, “Agree Very Much” or “Agree Somewhat” (95%CI)a | % of Physicians Surveyed Responding “Neither Agree Nor Disagree” (95%CI)a | % of Physicians Surveyed Responding “Disagree Strongly”, “Disagree Very Much” or “Disagree Somewhat” (95%CI)a |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frustrates me | 87.6 (84.4–90.1) | 9.6 (7.5–12.6) | 2.8 (1.6–4.5) |
| Forces me to compromise my ethics | 49.1 (44.9–53.5) | 32.9 (29.0–37.1) | 18.0 (14.8–21.4) |
| Puts me in an uncomfortable situation where I am conflicted between the patient’s needs and the fiscal responsibilities of my practice | 69.8 (65.7–73.7) | 20.9 (17.5–24.5) | 9.3 (7.1–12.2) |
| Compromises my autonomy in clinical decision making |
82.3 (78.8–85.4) | 11.6 (9.2–14.7) | 6.1 (4.3–8.4) |
| Undermines my clinical judgment | 74.8 (71.0–78.5) | 16.8 (13.8–20.2) | 8.4 (6.3–11.1) |
| Diverts communication time with patients away from other important clinical issues | 84.3 (80.8–87.1) | 12.1 (9.5–15.2) | 3.9 (2.5–5.9) |
| Undermines a patient’s trust in my ability as a clinician | 56.1 (51.7–60.3) | 30.8 (26.9–34.9) | 13.1 (10.4–16.2) |
| Results in treatment inconsistent with accepted guidelines | 53.5 (49.2–57.8) | 32.1 (28.2–36.3) | 14.4 (11.6–17.7) |
| Increases my ability to do what is cost-effective for my patients | 39.0 (34.8–43.2) | 28.8 (25.0–32.9) | 32.2 (28.4–36.5) |
| Reduces the role of insurance companies in the medication selection process | 17.2 (14.3–20.8) | 17.5 (14.5–21.0) | 65.3 (61.2–69.4) |
| Forces me to take responsibility for a medication decision made by the insurance company | 81.1 (77.5–84.3) | 13.9 (11.1–17.1) | 5.3 (3.6–7.5) |
| Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements regarding the insurance process around a non-medical switchb | |||
| The process to challenge a non-medical switch is straightforward | 17.3 (14.3–20.8) | 15.0 (12.2–18.3) | 66.9 (62.7–70.9) |
| The insurance process to challenge a non-medical switch is worth the effort | 35.6 (31.6–39.8) | 20.6 (17.3–24.3) | 43.0 (36.1–44.6) |
| The insurance process discourages physicians from challenging a non-medical switch | 76.7 (72.8–80.1) | 14.4 (11.6–17.7) | 8.2 (6.1–10.9) |
| Insurance companies provide clear steps to challenge a non-medical switch | 20.4 (17.2–24.1) | 20.0 (16.8–23.7) | 58.9 (54.6–63.1) |
| Insurance companies clearly communicate how long it will take to receive a decision about a non-medical switch | 17.9 (14.8–21.4) | 18.0 (15.0–21.7) | 63.2 (59.0–67.3) |
| Methods for inquiring about the status of a non-medical switch challenge are readily available | 20.5 (17.2–24.1) | 18.9 (15.7–22.5) | 59.1 (54.8–63.3) |
| I am often put on hold for inconvenient lengths of time when I call insurance companies about my non-medical switch challenge | 76.1 (72.2–79.6) | 15.1 (12.3–18.5) | 7.3 (5.3–9.8) |
| When I call an insurance company to challenge the non-medical switch, I spend most of my time speaking to a physician who has the requisite specialty or sub-specialty expertise to perform an expert review | 19.7 (16.4–23.3) | 15.5 (12.7–19.0) | 62.0 (57.8–66.2) |
aAll percentages are weighted.
bPercentages may sum to less than 100% as respondents were allowed to indicate “don’t know” for this subset of survey items.