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Specialist physicians providing primary care services in Colorado
George E Fryer1, Rachel Consoli, Thomas J Miyoshi
1Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Practice and Primary Care, American Academy of Family Physicians, Washington, DC 20036, USA. efryer@aafp.org
The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
|April 15, 2004
Summary
Nearly half of US specialists provide primary care services, dedicating over a quarter of their patient care time to it. This highlights specialists
Area of Science:
- Medical Workforce Analysis
- Healthcare Policy Research
Background:
- US physician workforce size exceeds healthcare needs.
- Disproportionately high number of specialists compared to primary care physicians.
Purpose of the Study:
- Assess the extent of primary care services provided by non-primary care specialists.
- Inform future primary care needs assessments.
Main Methods:
- Survey distributed to all licensed physicians in Colorado.
- Questionnaire asked about hours spent providing primary care services (preventive, routine exams, common ailment treatment).
- Analysis of responses from non-primary care medical specialists.
Main Results:
- 46.5% of specialist respondents reported providing primary care services.
- Specialists devoted 27.9% of their direct patient care time to primary care.
- More primary care services were provided by non-board-certified specialists, osteopathic physicians, and those with less direct patient care time.
Conclusions:
- Specialists contribute significantly to primary care delivery.
- Further research needed with a comprehensive definition of primary care.
- Specialists facing low demand may be more inclined to provide primary care.