Primary care serves as the cornerstone in a strong healthcare system. However, it has long
been overlooked in the United States (USA), and an imbalance between specialty and …

Evidence of the health‐promoting influence of primary care has been accumulating ever
since researchers have been able to distinguish primary care from other aspects of the …

BACKGROUND• Studies have shown that women use more health care services than men.
We used important independent variables, such as patient sociodemographics and health …

Physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) measures
make it possible to reduce the number of statistical comparisons and thereby the role of …

This chapter reviews the theory and empirical literature on physician market power,
behavior, and motives, referred to collectively as the issue of “physician agency.” The …

Objective.—To determine the effect of more intensive treatments on mortality in elderly
patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Design.—Analysis of incremental treatment …

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is four things: 1) the fundamental tenets of
primary care: first contact access, comprehensiveness, integration/coordination, and …

Background Major variations in medical practice have been documented internationally.
Variations raise questions about the quality, equity, and efficiency of resource allocation and …

This change is welcome in many respects, since generalists have perennially been
undervalued by health care institutions, payers, and even patients. The greater prominence …

Context: In the United States, more than a third of patients are referred to a specialist each
year, and specialist visits constitute more than half of outpatient visits. Despite the frequency …