Resource Use Among Diabetes Patients Who Mainly Visit Primary Care Physicians Versus Medical Specialists: a Retrospective Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

It is not uncommon for medical specialists to predominantly care for patients with certain chronic conditions rather than primary care physicians (PCPs), yet the resource implications from such patterns of care are not well understood.

Objective

To assess resource use of diabetes patients who predominantly visit a PCP versus a medical specialist.

Design

Retrospective cohort study of diabetes patients aging into the traditional Medicare program. Patients were attributed to a PCP or medical specialist annually based on a preponderance of ambulatory care visits and categorized according to whether attribution changed year to year. Propensity score weighting was used to balance baseline demographic characteristics, diabetes complications, and underlying health

SUBMITTER: Nyweide DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8811114 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature