A survey of cardiologists by KS&R, a strategic consultancy and marketing research firm, found that patient lifestyle was the greatest challenge in cardiac medicine.
Cardiologists (N=429) who practiced in the United States were surveyed about barriers to care delivery and about innovations that are transforming the field of cardiology.
The cardiologists practiced in the Northeast (33%), South (32%), West (19%), and Midwest (16%); they had been in practice for an average of 18 years with 26% practicing between 26 and 35 years; 56% worked in a practice with 11 or more cardiologists; 41% practiced in a clinic adjacent to a hospital; and 43% practiced in a health system-owned clinic.
The cardiologists disclosed that comorbidities were common among their patients and that they have been seeing more patients who were sicker. The most common comorbidities patients have been presenting with included arrhythmia, hypertension, heart failure, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and peripheral artery disease, among others.
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This report provides critical insight into what cardiologists are facing as they treat patients and points towards ways in which companies that serve cardiologists can address them.
When asked what the biggest challenge in cardiology practice is, most cardiologists (62%) thought patient lifestyle, such as weight, drug use, tobacco use, and alcohol abuse, was the greatest barrier. Additional challenges included patient compliance (43%), high insurance costs (41%), the increased cost in practicing medicine (36%), lower reimbursements (28%), and patient reluctance to take medication (22%).
When asked what change would make it easier to treat patients, the physicians thought that lower costs to patients (32%), an easier process for cardiologists to deal with insurance (28%), more efficient practice (25%), better patient education (22%), having more time with patients with better access to care (17%), and factors related to staffing (17%), would ease some of the challenges in cardiology care.
The cardiologists acknowledged that clinical practice has been evolving. The biggest trends were with technology (39%), in which patients use wearable devices and care has transitioned to telemedicine, advances in medications and procedures (39%), and a shift to spending more time on administration work and less time with patients (21%).
When asked what the future of cardiology may look like, most clinicians thought treatments would improve and more medication options would be available across multiple cardiac conditions (56%). The cardiologists also thought there would be increased use of advanced technologies (48%), more individualized care (11%), and better strategies for disease prevention (9%).
“We’ve worked with many large health care clients to help them understand the trends that are shaping patient, physician and insurer beliefs and preferences,” said David Ouellette, health care director at KS&R, in a press release. “This report provides critical insight into what cardiologists are facing as they treat patients and points towards ways in which companies that serve cardiologists can address them.”
This article originally appeared on The Cardiology Advisor