Primary Care Physician Characteristics Associated with Low Value Care Spending

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Medical Practice Management
• Healthcare Policy

Background:

• Previous research estimated $210 billion in annual spending on unnecessary medical services.
• Patient and hospital factors linked to low-value care (LVC) are known.
• The association between primary care physician (PCP) characteristics and LVC spending remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between PCP characteristics and LVC spending.
• To identify specific PCP attributes associated with reduced healthcare waste.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of Medicare claims data (2011).
• Utilized American Medical Association Masterfile for PCP characteristics.
• Included PCPs serving Medicare beneficiaries aged 65+.

Main Results:

• A sample of 6,873 PCPs and 1,078,840 patients was analyzed.
• Lower per-patient LVC spending correlated with allopathic training, smaller patient panels, family medicine practice, Midwest location, recent graduation, and rural practice.
• PCPs with smaller patient panels spent $3.98 less per patient on LVC; Midwest PCPs spent $2.80 less than Northeast PCPs.

Conclusions:

• LVC services are associated with distinct PCP characteristics.
• Further research is needed to confirm these associations.
• Policy interventions should target systemic approaches to decrease LVC spending.