Greater Use of Primary Care Can Reduce Deaths, Hospitalizations

As the primary-care workforce continues to be strained, new research shows that areas with higher levels of primary care have fewer patient deaths and preventable hospitalizations, according to a study in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers evaluated seniors with Medicare benefits who live in areas with higher levels of adult primary care physicians and physicians providing primary care. They found that elder patients were less likely to die or land in the hospital.

"A higher level of primary-care physician workforce, particularly with an FTE measure that may more accurately reflect ambulatory primary care, was generally associated with favorable patient outcomes," said the study authors.