Views of patients and providers regarding the importance of various aspects of an arthritis treatment program.

The views of arthritis center staff and patients regarding a care program were surveyed. Patient education topics and financial issues were considered to be more important by patients than by staff. In contrast, staff judged provision of assistive devices, sexual counseling and drug treatment of arthritis to be more important. Moreover, staff underestimated the extent to which patients desired education about their disease. Efforts to reduce the incongruity between these views may promote better patient compliance, higher satisfaction with care and improved clinical outcome.