Decreasing Use of Primary Care: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study of MEPS 2007-2017

We sought to describe the proportion of patients in contact with a primary care physician, as well as the total number of primary care contacts over a 2-year period, using the 2002-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The rate of any contact with a primary care physician for patients in the population decreased by 2.5% over the study period (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.99 per panel, 95% CI, 0.98-0.99; P <.001). The number of contacts with a primary care physician decreased among individuals with any contact by 0.5 contacts over 2 years (aOR = -0.04 per panel, 95% CI, -0.04 to -0.03, P <.001). The decreases were observed across all age groups at varying rates. The results of this study suggest that the driver for the previously reported decreases in primary care visits is secondary to fewer contacts per patient.