US Generalist Physicians and Groups That Focused Practice in a Single Care Setting: 2014–2017

Background: Some generalist physicians whose training prepared them for primary care practice increasingly practice in a facility (eg, hospitals, nursing homes); however, whether this trend was accompanied by a complimentary rise in generalist physicians who focused their practice on office-based care is unknown. Objectives: Our objective in this study was to examine trends in the prevalence of generalist physicians and physician groups that practice in a single setting. Research Design: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of generalist physicians trained in family medicine, internal medicine, or geriatrics. We used 2014–2017 billing data for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to measure the proportion of all patient visits made by physicians in the following care settings: office, outpatient hospital department, inpatient hospital, and other sites. Results: From 2014 to 2017, the proportion of generalist physicians who narrowed their practice to a single setting increased by 6.69% (from 62.80% to 67.00%, pfor trend
Source: Medical Care - Category: Health Management Tags: Brief Reports Source Type: research