Core Concepts
Preventive care visits have significantly increased over the past two decades, fostering better physician-patient relationships and improving health outcomes.
Abstract
The content discusses the substantial rise in preventive care visits in primary care over the last 20 years, highlighting the benefits of these visits for both clinicians and patients. It delves into the factors contributing to this increase, such as policy changes under the Affordable Care Act and the impact on different age groups and insurance types. The study emphasizes the importance of preventive care in addressing health risks, social determinants of health, and chronic illnesses, ultimately leading to lower patient costs and hospitalizations. Despite the positive trend, challenges like the decline in primary care visits overall and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to care are also addressed.
Highlights:
Preventive care visits in primary care nearly doubled since 2001.
Policies under the Affordable Care Act contributed to the increase in preventive visits.
Physicians spend more time counseling patients and ordering preventive tests during these visits.
Extended time during preventive visits helps in identifying health risks and strengthening the physician-patient relationship.
The rise in preventive visits may be linked to patients seeking specialized care for specific ailments.
Stats
The proportion of preventive services-focused visits to primary care increased from 12.8% in 2001 to 24.6% in 2019.
Medicare beneficiaries exhibited the largest increases in preventive visits, up 10 percentage points over the two-decade span.
Quotes
"I'm surprised and pleased." - Ann Greiner
"That's supposed to be one of our primary goals is to use preventive care as a stopgap for chronic illness." - Diane Thierys
"Some of the simple, problem-based visits have actually left primary care." - Tim Anderson