Primary Care Relationships Are Associated with More High-Value Care

Access to primary care is associated with lower costs and better outcomes on a population basis. U.S. researchers used survey data collected in 2012 through 2014 to compare the value of primary care services received by adults with or without a primary care relationship (determined to exist if a respondent identified a specific physician as his or her “usual source of care” that was comprehensive, continuous, and coordinated). The investigators evaluated quality of care among 50,000 patients with primary care relationships and 20,000 without such relationships. Clinical-quality measures were used to distinguish between high-value services (e.g., appropriate cancer screening, risk factor assessment and reduction, chronic disease management) …