The Article in Brief
Preventive Services Delivery in Patients With Chronic Illnesses: Parallel Opportunities Rather Than Competing Obligations
Steven M. Ornstein , and colleagues
Background Delivery of recommended preventive health services is an important for public health, but it is unclear whether patients with chronic illnesses are more or less likely to receive such services. This study explores the issue in a large national practice-based research network.
What This Study Found Among 667,379 adult patients from 148 primary care practices across the United States, there are strong positive associations between receiving clinical preventive services and the presence of chronic illnesses. The associations persist regardless of the number of chronic illnesses.
Implications
- These findings are in contrast to commonly expressed concerns that increasing patient complexity impedes the delivery of preventive services because of competing demands.
- The authors suggest that primary care practices, using tools like electronic health records, can overcome competing demands and effectively deliver preventive services to the growing number of patients with multiple chronic illnesses.