Panel Size, Clinician Time in Clinic, and Access to Appointments

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Large patient panel sizes are frequently cited as a barrier to timely primary care appointments.
• The interplay between panel size, clinician availability, and appointment access requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the independent associations between primary care appointment backlog, panel size, and clinician time spent in clinic.
• To determine factors influencing the delay in obtaining primary care appointments.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of primary care data.
• Utilized Spearman correlation and multiple regression statistical models.
• Examined relationships between panel size, clinician time in clinic, and days to the third next available appointment.

Main Results:

• No independent association was found between panel size and appointment wait times.
• Larger panel sizes, when adjusted for clinician time in clinic, correlated with worse appointment access.
• Reduced clinician time in clinic was independently associated with longer appointment backlogs.

Conclusions:

• Clinician time in clinic, rather than panel size alone, is a significant factor in primary care appointment access.
• Patients with part-time primary care clinicians may experience longer waits for appointments compared to those with full-time clinicians.
• Healthcare systems should consider clinician availability alongside panel size to improve timely access to primary care.