Time Spent on Preventive Services by Primary Care Physicians
Author Information
Author(s): Kathryn I Pollak, Katrina M Krause, Kimberly SH Yarnall, Margaret Gradison, J Lloyd Michener, Truls Østbye
Primary Institution: Duke University Medical Center
Hypothesis
How much time do primary care physicians spend on delivering preventive health services?
Conclusion
Physicians adequately address many 'A' rated services but spend less time than recommended on important services like smoking cessation and Pap smears.
Supporting Evidence
- Preventive visits were longer than chronic care visits.
- New patients required more time from physicians.
- Physicians spent less time than recommended on tobacco cessation and Pap smear services.
- Considerable time was spent on services with inconclusive evidence of effectiveness.
Takeaway
Doctors have a lot to do and sometimes don't spend enough time helping patients with important health checks, like quitting smoking.
Methodology
Analyzed data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2001–2004) using multiple linear regression.
Potential Biases
Physicians may prioritize services based on personal biases and knowledge of guidelines.
Limitations
NAMCS did not collect data on all 'A' and 'B' rated preventive health services, and estimates may not reflect actual observed measurements.
Participant Demographics
{"age":{"mean":41.3,"sd":23.5},"gender":{"male":43.1,"female":56.9},"race":{"white":85.7,"black":9.2,"other":5.1},"insurance":{"private":61.1,"medicare":16.5,"medicaid":9.3,"other":13.1},"new_patient":14.3}
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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