Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
The 2021-2022 Patient Well-Being Survey: Patient Selection and Survey Distribution
- Figure 2.
Preference for Seeing Only One’s PCP vs Willingness to See Other Clinician by Visit Type
PCP = primary care physician.
- Figure 3.
Preference for Waiting to See One’s PCP vs Seeing Next Available Clinician for Specific Medical Concerns
PCP = primary care physician.
Tables
Characteristica Unweighted No. (%) (N = 2,319) Weighted No. (%) (N = 2,320) Language English 2,299 (99.1) 2,279 (98.2) Japanese 11 (0.5) 20 (0.9) Spanish 9 (0.4) 21 (0.9) Gender Female 1,531 (66.0) 1,340 (57.8) Male 766 (33.0) 968 (41.7) Other 22 (0.9) 12 (0.5) Race Asian 78 (3.4) 156 (6.7) Black/African American 41 (1.8) 270 (11.6) White/Caucasian 2,112 (91.1) 1,748 (75.3) Otherb 88 (3.8) 147 (6.3) Ethnicity Hispanic 48 (2.1) 70 (3.0) Non-Hispanic 2,266 (97.7) 2,247 (96.9) Missing 5 (0.2) 3 (0.1) Education <8th grade or HS/GED 83 (3.6) 67 (2.9) Some college/associate’s degree 430 (18.5) 396 (17.1) Bachelor’s degree or higher 1,804 (77.8) 1,856 (80.0) Missing 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) Insurance type Publicc 973 (42.0) 649 (28.0) Private 1,340 (57.8) 1,665 (71.8) Missing 6 (0.3) 6 (0.2) Site Resident 556 (24.0) 526 (22.7) Nonresident 1,736 (74.9) 1,775 (76.5) Missing 27 (1.2) 20 (0.8) GED =General Educational Development Test; HS = high school.
↵a Mean (SD) age was 58.8 (14.3) years in the unweighted sample and 52.0 (15.3) years in the weighted sample. Mean (SD) What Matters Index score was 1.1 (1.1) in the unweighted sample and 1.0 (1.1) in the weighted sample; possible scores range from 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating poorer health and predicting greater risk for hospitalization and emergency department use by patients with chronic illness.
↵b American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and write-in answers.
↵c Medicare and Medicaid.
Characteristic Odds ratio (95% CI) P value Age, per year 1.03 (1.01-1.04) <.001 Gender (ref = male) Female 1.68 (1.29-2.20) <.001 Other 2.11 (0.76-5.86) .15 Ethnicity: Hispanic (ref = non-Hispanic) 1.17 (0.54-2.52) .70 Education (ref = bachelor’s degree or higher) <8th grade or HS/GED 1.16 (0.60-2.22) .66 Some college/associate’s degree 1.05 (0.75-1.47) .78 Race (ref = White/Caucasian) Black/African American 0.79 (0.39-1.59) .51 Asian 0.86 (0.49-1.54) .62 Other 0.68 (0.40-1.16) .16 Insurance: private (ref = public) 1.34 (0.94-1.91) .11 Site: resident (ref = nonresident) 0.67 (0.49-0.91) .01 What Matters Index score, per point 1.06 (0.93-1.20) .36 GED = General Educational Development Test; HS = high school; PCP = primary care physician; ref = reference group.
- Table 3.
Predictors of Preference to See Only One’s PCP for Follow-up of a Chronic Condition
Characteristic Odds ratio (95% CI) P value Age, per year 1.01 (0.99-1.02) .37 Gender (ref = male) Female 1.08 (0.82-1.43) .57 Other 0.89 (0.35-2.25) .80 Ethnicity: Hispanic (ref = non-Hispanic) 0.82 (0.39-1.74) .61 Education (ref = bachelor’s degree or higher) <8th grade or HS/GED 1.02 (0.57-1.83) .95 Some college/associate’s degree 0.86 (0.62-1.19) .37 Race (ref = White/Caucasian) Asian 1.21 (0.68-2.15) .52 Black/African American 1.81 (0.81-4.00) .15 Other 0.90 (0.52-1.56) .70 Insurance: private (ref = public) 1.13 (0.82-1.57) .45 Site: resident (ref = nonresident) 0.90 (0.63-1.28) .55 What Matters Index score, per point 1.15 (1.03-1.30) .02 GED = General Educational Development Test; HS = high school; PCP = primary care physician; ref = reference group.
- Table 4.
Predictors of Preference to Wait 3-4 Weeks to See One’s PCP for Issues Requiring a Sensitive Examination
Characteristic Odds ratio (95% CI) P value Age, per year 0.99 (0.98-1.00) .09 Gender (ref = male) Female 1.44 (1.09-1.89) .009 Other 1.72 (0.55-5.42) .35 Ethnicity: Hispanic (ref = non-Hispanic) 1.50 (0.60-3.76) .39 Education (ref = bachelor’s degree or higher) <8th grade or HS/GED 0.99 (0.53-1.87) .98 Some college/associate’s degree 1.00 (0.70-1.42) .98 Race (ref = White/Caucasian) Asian 0.68 (0.37-1.26) .22 Black/African American 1.47 (0.65-3.33) .35 Other 0.51 (0.29-0.89) .02 Insurance: private (ref = public) 1.16 (0.83-1.63) .39 Site: resident (ref = nonresident) 0.89 (0.63-1.25) .51 What Matters Index score, per point 1.09 (0.97-1.23) .14 GED = General Educational Development Test; HS = high school; PCP = primary care physician; ref = reference group.
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA IN PDF FILE BELOW
- Shumer_Supp_Apps_1-2_Tables_1-7.pdf -
Supplemental Appendix 1. 2021 Survey - translation process
Supplemental Appendix 2. Weighting groups
Supplemental Table 1. Preference to only see PCP for a new symptom or problem
Supplemental Table 2. Preference to only see PCP for an urgent concern
Supplemental Table 3. Preference to only see PCP for follow-up for a mental health condition
Supplemental Table 4. Preference to wait 3-4 weeks to see PCP for a new mental health concern
Supplemental Table 5. Preference to wait 3-4 weeks to see PCP for a new concern about a chronic condition
Supplemental Table 6. Preference to wait 3-4 weeks to see PCP for evaluation of a sore throat
Supplemental Table 4. Preference to wait 3-4 weeks to see PCP for bodily pain symptoms
- Shumer_Supp_Apps_1-2_Tables_1-7.pdf -
VISUAL ABSTRACT IN PDF FILE BELOW
- Shumer_VA_Final.pdf -
PDF file
- Shumer_VA_Final.pdf -
PLAIN-LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Original Research
Over Half of Patients Prefer Their Own Doctor and Will Wait Longer for an Appointment
Background and Goal: This study focuses on how primary care patients balance the trade-off between continuity of care and access to timely appointments. It examines whether patients prefer to wait longer to see their own primary care physician (PCP) or prefer to see another clinician for faster care.
Study Approach:Researchers analyzed data from a cross-sectional online survey of adult primary care patients in Michigan. Patients were presented with scenarios in the survey for different visit types—annual checkups, chronic and mental health follow-ups, new symptoms, and urgent concerns—and asked to choose among three options: see only their PCP, prefer their PCP but willing to see another clinician, or see the first available clinician.
Results: 2,319 questionnaires were included in the analysis.
-
Over one-half of patients preferred their PCP for annual checkups, chronic condition follow-up, and mental health follow-ups. Patients were willing to wait 3-4 weeks to see their PCP for sensitive exams (68.2%), new mental health concerns (58.9%), and new concerns about chronic conditions (61.1%).
-
Only 7.2% of patients were willing to wait for their PCP for urgent concerns while most preferred the soonest available clinician.
Why It Matters:As urgent care rises and health systems prioritize rapid access over continuity, this study suggests these shifts may not align with patient preferences, which emphasize trust and continuity over convenience.
Convenience or Continuity: When Are Patients Willing to Wait to See Their Own Doctor?
Gregory Shumer, MD, MHSA, et al
University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Visual Abstract:
-
In this issue
Jump to section
Related Articles
Cited By...
- No citing articles found.