RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Panel Size, Clinician Time in Clinic, and Access to Appointments
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 546
OP 548
DO 10.1370/afm.2313
VO 16
IS 6
A1 David Margolius
A1 Douglas Gunzler
A1 Michael Hopkins
A1 Kathryn Teng
YR 2018
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/16/6/546.abstract
AB Large panel sizes are often held responsible for worse access to appointments in primary care. We evaluated the relationship between appointment backlog, panel size, and primary care clinician time in clinic, using Spearman correlation and multiple regression in a retrospective analysis. We found no independent association between panel size and days until third next available appointment, but larger panel size adjusted for clinician time in clinic was associated with worse access. Less clinician time in clinic was independently associated with longer backlogs for appointments. Our findings suggest that patients of part-time clinicians may be less likely to obtain timely appointments than patients of fulltime clinicians, regardless of panel size.