Patient preferences for care by general internists and specialists in the ambulatory setting

OBJECTIVE: To investigate patients' preferences for care by general interni sts and specialists for common medical conditions. DESIGN: Telephone interview. SETTING: A convenience sample of general internal medicine practices at 10 eastern academic medical centers. PATIENT/PARTICIPANTS: A probability sample of 314 participants who had at l east one visit with their primary care physician during the preceding 2 yea rs. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Items addressed patients' attitudes concerni ng continuity of care, preferences for care by general internists or specia lists for common medical problems, and perceptions about the competency of general internists and specialists to manage these problems. Continuity was important to participants, with 63% reporting they preferred having one do ctor. Respondents were willing to wait 3 or 4 days to see their regular doc tor (85%) and wanted their doctor to see them in the emergency department ( 77%) and monitor their care while in the hospital (94%). A majority (>60%) preferred care from their regular doctor for a variety of new conditions. T hough respondents valued continuity, 84% felt it was important to be able t o seek medical care from any type of physician without a referral, and 74% responded that if they needed to see a specialist, they were willing to pay out-of-pocket to do so. Although most participants (98%) thought their reg ular doctor was able to take care of usual medical problems, the majority t hought that specialists were better able to care for allergies (79%) and be tter able to prescribe medications for depression (65%) and low-back pain ( 72%), CONCLUSIONS: Participants preferred to see their general internist despite their perceptions that specialists were more competent in caring for the co nditions we examined. However, they wanted unrestricted access to specialis ts to supplement care provided by general internists.