Do Patients Value High-Quality Medical Care? Experimental Evidence from Malaria Diagnosis and Treatment
Can better information on the value of diagnostic tests improve adoption and help patients recognize higher quality of care? In a randomized experiment in public clinics in Mali, providers and patients received tailored information about the importance of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for malaria. The provider training increased reliance on RDTs and improved the match between a patient’s malaria status and treatment with antimalarials by 15-30 percent. Nonetheless, patients were significantly less satisfied with the care they received, driven by those whose prior beliefs did not match their malaria status. The patient information intervention reduced malaria testing and did not improve treatment outcomes or patient satisfaction. These findings are consistent with highly persistent patient beliefs and distrust of the promoted diagnostic technology, which translate into low demand and limit patients’ ability to recognize improved quality of care.
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