Dive Brief:
- The Robert Graham Center, an affiliate of the American Academy of Family Physicians, has published a new report that concludes one in five Americans has "no usual source of healthcare" and more are choosing a facility over a doctor.
- Personal relationships between physicians and patients have been declining over the past 15 years while choosing a clinic or hospital has risen, said Anuradha Jetty, a Graham Center researcher. "These trends persisted even after controlling for age, race, insurance status and poverty status," she explained.
- Physicians are concerned this may result in a less coordinated patient care experience. Jetty said in a statement, "Research suggests that seeing the same clinician over time increases trust, awareness and effectiveness of care, and is associated with better quality at lower cost. We don't know yet if the same effects result from thinking of a facility as your usual source of care."
Dive Insight:
The ACA has expanded health insurance to millions and the shortage of primary care physicians has become problematic. According to Forbes, clinics like those available at CVS and Walgreens "say they are filling the void," and encourage the patient-physician relationship.
Carolyn Castel, vice president of corporate communications at CVS Health told Forbes, "The shortage of [primary care physicians] will mean that other models of collaboration, such as our MinuteClinic model that employs nurse practitioners and physician assistants in a complementary fashion will continue to be important. We do not refer to facilities, in general, but do send patients to primary care physicians."
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) released a report in March that estimated the U.S. will be short between 46,000 and 90,000 total physicians with a primary care shortage of 12,500 to 31,100 by 2025. AAMC president and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch said in a press release, "The doctor shortage is real - it's significant - and it's particularly serious for the kind of medical care that our aging population is going to need."