Lj. Weiss et J. Blustein, FAITHFUL PATIENTS - THE EFFECT OF LONG-TERM PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS ON THE COSTS AND USE OF HEALTH-CARE BY OLDER AMERICANS, American journal of public health, 86(12), 1996, pp. 1742-1747
Objectives. This study examined the impact of duration of physician-pa
tient ties on the processes and costs of medical care. Methods. The an
alyses used a nationally representative sample of Americans 65 years o
ld or older who participated in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Surve
y in 1991 and had a usual source of care. Results. Older Americans hav
e long-standing ties with their physicians; among those with a usual s
ource of care, 35.8% had ties enduring 10 years or more. Longer ties w
ere associated with a decreased likelihood of hospitalization and lowe
r costs. Compared with patients with a tie of 1 year or less, patients
with ties of 10 years or more incurred $316.78 less in Part B Medicar
e costs, after adjustment for key demographic and health characteristi
cs. However, substantial impacts on the use of selected preventive car
e services and the adoption of certain healthy behaviors were not obse
rved. Conclusions. This preliminary study suggests that long-standing
physician-patient ties foster less expensive, less intensive medical c
are. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to under
stand how duration of tie influences the processes and outcomes of car
e.