1. Periodic health examinations and the provision of cancer prevention services.
- Author
-
Sox CH, Dietrich AJ, Tosteson TD, Winchell CW, and Labaree CE
- Subjects
- Adult, Female, Health Care Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, New Hampshire, Reproducibility of Results, Surveys and Questionnaires, Vermont, Neoplasms prevention & control, Physical Examination statistics & numerical data, Preventive Health Services statistics & numerical data, Primary Health Care statistics & numerical data
- Abstract
Objectives: To learn about cancer prevention services in primary care practices and to understand physician factors that affect the provision of these services., Design: Survey of physicians and their patients in 1992., Setting: Cooperating physicians (n = 72) of a random selection of community general internist and family physician practices in New Hampshire and Vermont., Patients: Patients (n = 2775) of the study physicians for at least 1 year, aged 42 years or older, with no life-threatening threatening illness, who recently visited the physician., Main Outcome Measures: Proportion of sample patients per practice provided age- and sex-appropriate cancer prevention services in the previous year., Results: In this primary care population, a high proportion of patients received appropriate services in 1992. A periodic health examination within the past year was an important predictor for the receipt of many cancer prevention services. Female physicians provided more periodic health examinations than male physicians; internists provided more than family physicians., Conclusions: The strongest determinant of receiving preventive services is having a periodic health examination. If clinicians and policymakers decrease emphasis on the periodic health examination as a major opportunity to provide indicated preventive services, they should ensure that a satisfactory alternative strategy is in place.
- Published
- 1997
- Full Text
- View/download PDF