U.S. low in primary care physician visits

While policy makers talk about lack of primary care in the U.S. an international comparison showed patient-physician time in the US is about half the average of New Zealand and one-third of Australia. Such a severe shortfall impacts preventive care and management of chronic conditions in the US and could explain why the US does not achieve health outcomes that correspond to its higher level of investment in health care,” said study lead author Andrew Bindman, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco. Published on-line in the BMJ this week.