[Who takes care of the clinic health team?]

To characterize the primary health care provided community clinic personnel, we investigated the primary health care obtained by staff at Kupat Holim clinics. 21% of physicians working in these clinics were not registered with any primary health care physician, compared with 4.4% of other clinic workers (nurses, clerks, pharmacists, cleaning workers, etc.). 40% of the staff preferred to be treated by the clinic in which they worked, while 26% preferred treatment at a clinic near their homes. Excluding physicians, 73% of the staff would take medical problems to the primary care physician with whom they were registered. 23% of physicians would consult a specialist directly with such problems, and 16% said they would confer with a medical acquaintance. 52% of physicians had not consulted any doctor in the previous year, compared with 17% of nurses and 11% of the office staff. 94% of all the staff studied were satisfied with the medical treatment they were receiving. When presented with various alternatives for health care provision, most preferred to do the choosing themselves.