Objective
To study the relationship between overall productivity and the rates at which primary
care physicians, in a fee-for-service setting, deliver or prescribe preventive services
to adult patients.
Patients and Methods
The charts of 452 adult patients treated by 8 family practitioners and 5 internists
in a feefor-service practice setting were randomly selected and abstracted for provision
of 10 preventive services over a 27- month period. The percentage of eligible patients
screened for each service was correlated with the production of each physician measured
in relative value units (RVUs).
Results
The correlation coefficient between RVUs and the aggregate of the 10 services was
0.23 (95% confidence interval [Cl], −0.36 to 0.70). The individual correlation coefficients
between RVUs and 9 of the 10 preventive services ranged from −0.05 to 0.43. For cervical
cancer screening, however, the correlation coefficient was −0.72 (95% CI, −0.91 to
−0.24).
Conclusion
With the exception of screening for cervical cancer, the data presented in this study
do little to support physicians' common belief that lack of time is the reason they
are unable to incorporate prevention strategies into their clinical practice.
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Article Info
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Copyright
© 2000 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
