Areas with More Primary Care Physicians Have Longer Life Expectancy

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

A greater per-capita supply of primary care physicians is associated with lower population mortality, a JAMA Internal Medicine study suggests.

Researchers used the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile to identify practicing primary care physicians and used U.S. Census data for population figures. From 2005 to 2015, the number of primary care physicians in the U.S. increased from 196,000 to 204,000. However, there was a loss of primary care physicians at the county level from 47 to 41 physicians per 100,000 population.

After multivariable adjustment, each additional 10 primary care physicians per 100,000 population was associated with 52 days more in life expectancy. An increase of 10 specialist physicians was associated with a 19-day increase in life expectancy.

Dr. Thomas Schwenk of NEJM Journal Watch General Medicine comments: "Many studies have shown a strong relationship between primary care access and better clinical outcomes at the country and state-level. Now we have confirmation of this relationship at the county-level. These results should influence health care policy decisions that support and enhance primary care as a way to improve health care outcomes."