Primary Care — Will It Survive?

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Abstract:

The great majority of patients prefer to seek initial care from a primary care physician rather than a specialist, but their unhappiness with their primary care experience is growing. Reimbursement based primarily on the quantity of services delivered, rather than on quality, forces primary care physicians onto a treadmill, devaluing their professional work life. The short, rushed visits with overfilled agendas that cause patients dissatisfaction simultaneously breed frustration in physicians.