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- Title
Productivity, quality, and patient satisfaction: comparison of part-time and full-time primary care physicians.
- Authors
Fairchild, D G; McLoughlin, K S; Gharib, S; Horsky, J; Portnow, M; Richter, J; Gagliano, N; Bates, D W
- Abstract
<bold>Context: </bold>Although few data are available, many believe that part-time primary care physicians (PCPs) are less productive and provide lower quality care than full-time PCPs. Some insurers exclude part-time PCPs from their provider networks.<bold>Objective: </bold>To compare productivity, quality of preventive care, patient satisfaction, and risk-adjusted resource utilization of part-time and full-time PCPs.<bold>Design: </bold>Retrospective cohort study.<bold>Setting: </bold>Boston.<bold>Participants: </bold>PCPs affiliated with 2 academic outpatient primary care networks.<bold>Measurements: </bold>PCP productivity, patient satisfaction, resource utilization, and compliance with screening guidelines.<bold>Results: </bold>Part-time PCP productivity was greater than that of full-time PCPs (2.1 work relative value units (RVUs)/bookable clinical hour versus 1.3 work RVUs/bookable clinical hour, P< .01). A similar proportion of part-time PCPs (80%) and full-time PCPs (75%) met targets for mammography, Pap smears, and cholesterol screening (P = .67). After adjusting for clinical case mix, practice location, gender, board certification status, and years in practice, resource utilization of part-time PCPs (138 dollars [95% confidence interval (CI), 108 dollars to 167 dollars]) was similar to that of full-time PCPs (139 dollars [95% CI, 108 dollars to 170 dollars], P = .92). Patient satisfaction was similar for part-time and full-time PCPs.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>In these academic primary care practices, rates of patient satisfaction, compliance with screening guidelines, and resource utilization were similar for part-time PCPs compared to full-time PCPs. Productivity per clinical hour was markedly higher for part-time PCPs. Despite study limitations, these data suggest that academic part-time PCPs are at least as efficient as full-time PCPs and that the quality of their work is similar.
- Subjects
MASSACHUSETTS; ACADEMIC medical centers; BENCHMARKING (Management); COMPARATIVE studies; WORKING hours; INTERNAL medicine; LABOR productivity; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL quality control; MEDICAL care use; MEDICAL cooperation; MEDICAL protocols; PATIENT satisfaction; PREVENTIVE health services; PRIMARY health care; RESEARCH; EVALUATION research; RETROSPECTIVE studies
- Publication
JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2001, Vol 16, Issue 10, p663
- ISSN
0884-8734
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1525-1497.2001.01111.x