Trends and Between-Physician Variation in Laboratory Testing: A Retrospective Longitudinal Study in General Practice.

ABSTRACT: Laboratory tests are frequently ordered by general practitioners (GPs), but little is known about time trends and between-GP variation of their use. In this retrospective longitudinal study, we analyzed over six million consultations by Swiss GPs during the decade 2009-2018. For 15 commonly used test types, we defined specific laboratory testing rates (sLTR) as the percentage of consultations involving corresponding laboratory testing requests. Patient age- and sex-adjusted time trends of sLTR were modeled with mixed-effect logistic regression accounting for clustering of patients within GPs. We quantified between-GP variation by means of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Nine out of the 15 laboratory test types considered showed significant temporal increases, most eminently vita

SUBMITTER: Schumacher LD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7355885 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature