More High-Value Care Associated With Receipt of Primary Care

Receipt of primary care is associated with significantly more high-value care, slightly more low-value care, and a better health care experience, according to a study published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

David M. Levine, M.D., M.P.H., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues compared propensity score-weighted quality and experience of care for 49,286 adults with and 21,133 adults without primary care who participated in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

The researchers found that U.S. adults with or without primary care had the same mean numbers of outpatient, emergency department, and inpatient encounters annually after propensity score weighting.