Specialty care utilization may be impacted by a PCP’s choices regarding the scheduled length of in-person visits, according to a study published in Family Practice. David T. Liss, MD, PhD, and colleagues assessed how the scheduled length of in-person visits with PCPs was linked with characteristics of PCPs and patients and the receipt of preventive care. They conducted a retrospective cohort study that evaluated data from a large academic health system. Researchers defined PCP visit length as either 15- and 30-minute scheduled appointments (ie, 15/30) or 20- and 40-minute scheduled appointments (ie, 20/40). Of 222 PCPs, 38.3% used the 15/30 template, and 61.7% used the 20/40 template. The 15/30 group had higher proportions of family medicine (37.6% vs 21.2%) physicians and men (49.4% vs 35.8% in the 20/40 group). Having a 15/30 PCP visit correlated with 9% more primary care visits (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.09; 95% CI, 1.03–1.14) and 8% fewer specialty care visits (IRR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86– 0.98) in adjusted patient-level analysis.
