Outpatient Primary Care Practitioner Access: Gender-Based Preferences

Area of Science:

• Primary Care
• Health Services Research
• Patient Satisfaction

Background:

• Primary care practices are adapting to modern challenges by implementing new care models.
• Innovations include team-based care and virtual care options to enhance patient needs and practitioner efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if patient gender influences preferences for primary care visit models.
• To understand how practice variations impact patient satisfaction in primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted with patients at an outpatient internal medicine clinic.
• Multivariable models were used to analyze gender-based care preferences, adjusting for demographic factors.

Main Results:

• Initially, women were more likely than men to prefer continuity of care with the same provider and allied health staff (AHS) over convenience.
• However, multivariable analysis indicated no statistically significant gender-based differences in these preferences.

Conclusions:

• While initial trends suggested gender differences in primary care preferences, adjusted analysis found no significant disparities.
• Understanding individual patient preferences for care delivery is crucial for optimizing patient satisfaction in evolving primary care settings.