OBJECTIVE In order to understand the reasons for the low priority given to work in primary health care among physicians, we studied differences in work stress, health and health related lifestyles between general practitioners (GPs) and hospital physicians. METHOD A cohort of 226 GPs and 523 consultants from Finland responded to a questionnaire survey. The responses were linked to data on reg...

BACKGROUND The U.S. health care system is at a critical juncture in health care workforce planning. The nation has a shortage of primary care physicians. Policy analysts have proposed expanding the supply and scope of practice of nurse practitioners to address increased demand for primary care providers. These proposals are controversial. METHODS From November 23, 2011, to April 9, 2012, we c...

OBJECTIVE To obtain descriptions of how family physicians detect and manage mental health problems commonly encountered in their practices and how they function in their role as mental health care providers. Also, to elicit their perceptions of barriers to the delivery of optimal mental health care. METHOD Focus groups with standardized questions were used to elicit descriptive data, opinions...

Since 1998, the growth of health care spending has accelerated to levels not seen since the 1980s. This growth has renewed pressures on physicians to practice "cost-effective" care, since physicians' decisions account for the vast majority of all health care spending. But little is known about what physicians think about cost containment, and how they incorporate cost-effectiveness information ...

Good coordination of care in the ambulatory setting has the potential to reduce unnecessary or duplicative use of health services, prevent hospitalizations for ambulatory care–sensitive conditions, improve patient safety, and potentially reduce costs. Unfortunately, coordination failures are common across the health care system. Using performance measures can drive practice improvement, particu...