JAMA Internal Medicine: First-year Effects on Medicare Beneficiaries Whose Primary Care Physician (PCP) Stopped Practicing

1. 18.4% fewer primary care visits compared with those who did not lose a PCP
2. 6.2% more specialty care visits compared with those who did not lose a PCP
3. 17.8% more urgent care visits compared with those who did not lose a PCP
4. 3.1% more emergency department visits compared with those who did not lose a PCP
5. Greater spending ($189 per beneficiary-year) after PCP exit compared with those who did not lose a PCP

Notes: From an article entitled, "Changes in Health Care Use and Outcomes After Turnover in Primary Care," by Adrienne H. Sabety, PhD; Anupam B. Jena, MD, PhD; Michael L. Barnett, MD, MS. In a study of 359,470 Medicare beneficiaries who visited a primary care physician from 2008 to 2017, 10.4% of the PCPs (9,491 of 90,953) exited Medicare during the study period.
Source: JAMA Internal Medicine, November 16, 2020
Source URL: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/articl...

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