Outpatient Visits During the 2-Year Study Period by Pattern of Use
| Pattern of Use | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of Visit* | Total Sample (N = 4,463) | Infrequent (n = 1,576) | Lower-Priority (n = 542) | Higher-Priority (n = 2,345) |
| * Values are mean (SD) numbers of visits. Excludes visits for dermatologic diagnoses, vision and hearing, mental health illness, and preventive and pregnancy-related services. All comparisons across use patterns are statistically significant (P <.001). | ||||
| Acute disease—higher priority | 1.9 (2.7) | 0.5 (0.8) | 1.9 (1.9) | 2.8 (3.2) |
| Acute disease—lower priority | 1.3 (1.8) | 0.5 (0.8) | 3.2 (2.7) | 1.4 (1.6) |
| Chronic disease—higher priority | 7.5 (7.4) | 3.0 (1.6) | 4.8 (3.1) | 11.2 (8.4) |
| Chronic disease—lower priority | 1.3 (1.9) | 0.3 (0.6) | 3.1 (2.8) | 1.5 (1.9) |
| Symptoms and ill-defined conditions | 1.6 (2.4) | 0.4 (0.7) | 4.2 (4.2) | 1.8 (2.0) |
| Total | 13.6 (11.2) | 4.8 (2.0) | 17.3 (9.4) | 18.7 (11.5) |