Context.—Despite increased emphasis on primary care in the United States, most care
continues to be provided by specialists. The extent to which specialists incorporate elements …

Background and Objectives: Physician referral patterns significantly impact costs, quality of
care, and access to the health system. This paper examines factors predictive of patient …

PURPOSE The impact of comorbidity on use of primary care and specialty services is poorly
understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between morbidity …

Abstract Approximately 7 of 10 (and 95% of the elderly) people in US health plans see one
or more specialists in a year. Controlling for extent of morbidity, discontinuity of primary care …

Objectives. To examine the factors related to the length of time that elderly patients spend
with physicians during ambulatory visits and explore specifically the association between …

Introduction: Variability in the referral patterns of primary care physicians is well established.
The objective of this study was to determine which factors have the most impact on a family …

Objectives. This study investigates the levels of participation and the relative association of
economic and noneconomic factors on primary care physician participation in the Medicare …

PURPOSE Long-term shifts in specialty choice and health workforce policy have raised
concern about the future of primary care in the United States. The objective of this study was …

PURPOSE We wanted to identify risk factors for persistently high use of primary care.
METHODS We analyzed outpatient office visits to practitioners in family medicine, general …

Methods The study was based on a cross-sectional analysis of visits to physicians' offices.
The data sources were the1996 and 1997 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys …