Patient-Evaluated Quality of Care is Related to Better Inflammatory Bowel Disease Outcomes: The IQCARO II Project.

BACKGROUND Measuring quality of care (QoC) from a patient's perspective is becoming increasingly important in inflammatory bowel disease. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine whether patients' evaluations of QoC correlate with better inflammatory bowel disease outcomes. METHODS A survey including patients' characteristics, a decalogue of QoC indicators, and self-reported disease outcomes was completed by Spanish patients with inflammatory bowel disease. A QoC index (QoCI) was constructed with the sum of the "yes" answers in the decalogue. We evaluated the correlation of QoCI with outcomes. A sub-analysis comparing patients with high QoCI vs those with low QoCI was performed (QoCI = 10 or ≤ 7). RESULTS Seven hundred and eighty-eight questionnaires were analyzed. Mean age of participants was 43.4 years (63% women). Mean QoCI was 8.1 (± 2.4). The QoCI correlated significantly with activity of the disease, number of flares, emergency/unscheduled visits, and disease control. Patients scoring in the first QoCI quartile reported a decreased rate of moderate/severe disease (34.8% vs 55.3%, p < 0.001), fewer numbers of flares (p < 0.001), and fewer emergency/unscheduled visits (p < 0.001) compared with those in the lower QoCI quartile. The high QoC group also reported better disease control. CONCLUSIONS Patient-evaluated QoC correlates with better outcomes. Evaluation of QoC by patients may be useful to detect inadequate care and improve inflammatory bowel disease outcomes.