Impartial doctor practices extra resilient throughout COVID-19, examine finds

Giant well being methods are buying smaller doctor practices at what some take into account an alarming price, leaving fewer impartial practices. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, it was unclear whether or not the impartial practices would be capable to “sustain” (keep the identical degree of affected person care) with bigger practices, which have extra assets, and if look after sufferers with power situations is likely to be disrupted by the pandemic.

A brand new examine from Affiliate Dean of Analysis Alison Cuellar discovered that impartial practices skilled a smaller drop in affected person quantity than their bigger counterparts throughout the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was true for sufferers with and with out power situations. Nonetheless, medical doctors in bigger group practices had the next proportion of telehealth visits initially, however the variations between group and impartial practices declined with time.

These findings additionally present that each built-in doctor practices and impartial practices can nonetheless thrive and assist their sufferers throughout occasions of disaster and stress for the general public.

Policymakers have raised considerations in regards to the elevated consolidation of physicians into massive practices. This examine finds that medical doctors at massive practices had fewer sufferers and better charges of telehealth visits within the early pandemic in comparison with impartial practices. This will point out that built-in doctor practices confronted much less monetary strain, had higher assets to implement new applied sciences corresponding to telehealth, or that they’ve essentially completely different observe cultures.”

Alison Cuellar, principal investigator

“Quantity of Take care of Main Care Physicians in Built-in vs Impartial Practices By means of the COVID-19 Pandemic” was printed in JAMA Well being Discussion board in September 2023. Cuellar was funded by the Nationwide Institute of Well being Care Administration. Anupam Jena of Harvard Medical Faculty is the co-investigator and co-author. For this examine, Cuellar and Jena analyzed administrative information utilizing claims information from FAIR Well being.