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Annals of Family Medicine: After-Hours Visits to Own Physician Group Less Likely to Result in Emergency Department Use Than Out-of-Group Visits

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Nov 26, 2024, 10:18 AM ET

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Patients who see a physician from their own family physician group for after-hours care are 10% less likely to visit the emergency department within seven days than patients who visit a walk-in clinic physician outside their family physician group, according to a new study published in Annals of Family Medicine. Findings from the new study titled "Health Care Utilization After a Visit to a Within-Group Family Physician vs a Walk-In Clinic Physician" highlight the critical role of continuity in primary care, even during after-hours and weekend visits.

Researchers analyzed health care claims data from Ontario, Canada, comparing outcomes for more than one million patients. The study matched individuals with similar characteristics to compare outcomes for patients who visited a within-group family physician and those who sought after-hours care from a walk-in clinic physician outside their group.

Key Findings:

Patients who saw a within-group family physician after hours were 10% less likely to visit the emergency department within seven days than patients who saw an out-of-group walk-in clinic physician.
This difference was most evident in patients living in large urban areas and among children and adolescents.
Those who saw a physician within their group were more likely to follow up with their own family physician or another doctor from their group in the following week.

These findings suggest that maintaining continuity of care, even for after-hours visits, can reduce unnecessary emergency department visits. Timely access to care within a patient's own family physician group may improve outcomes and lower health care costs by reducing emergency department use.

Article Cited:

Health Care Utilization After a Visit to a Within-Group Family Physician vs a Walk- In Clinic Physician

Christine Salahub, PhD; Peter C. Austin, PhD; Li Bai, PhD; Simon Berthelot, MD, MSc; R. Sacha Bhatia, MD, MBA; Cherryl Bird, HBA; Laura Desveaux, PhD, MScPT; Tara Kiran, MD, MSc; Aisha Lofters, MD, PhD; Danielle Martin, MD, MPP; Kerry McBrien, MD, MPH; Rita K. McCracken, MD, PhD; J. Michael Paterson, MSc; Bahram Rahman, MD, MPP; Jennifer Shuldiner, MPH, PhD; Mina Tadrous, PharmD, PhD; Niels Thakkar, MSc; Noah M. Ivers, MD, PhD; Lauren Lapointe-Shaw, MD, PhD

Annals of Family Medicine is an open access, peer-reviewed, indexed research journal that provides a cross-disciplinary forum for new, evidence-based information affecting the primary care disciplines. Launched in May 2003, Annals of Family Medicine is sponsored by seven family medical organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Medicine, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, the North American Primary Care Research Group, and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Annals of Family Medicine is published online six times each year, charges no fee for publication, and contains original research from the clinical, biomedical, social, and health services areas, as well as contributions on methodology and theory, selected reviews, essays, and editorials. Complete editorial content and interactive discussion groups for each published article can be accessed for free on the journal's website, www.AnnFamMed.org.