Unreimbursed Care in Primary Care - Factors Affecting Willingness to Provide

This study included preliminary telephone interviews of 20 members of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Research Network (NRN) and 20 members of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) to gather information on a wide variety of topics related to the provision of free and reduced cost health care services in private primary care practices.

The responses to the preliminary interviews were used to inform the development of the study methodology and instruments. A de-identified questionnaire was then created and sent to 600 randomly selected members of the AAFP and AAP. The goal was to better understand the issues surrounding the provision of free and reduced cost health care services, at the practice/institutional and physician level, that are associated with decisions to provide uncompensated care in primary care.

The goal of this study was to examine the situations (if any) under which a clinician provides care with no reimbursement, establishes a sliding pay scale, or accepts Medicaid (with/without co-pay), and his/her reasons for those choices.

This project was conducted October 2005 through January 2007.

This project is currently closed.

For additional information about this study, please contact the principal investigator:

Wilson D. Pace, MD, FAAFP
Director
AAFP National Research Network
1-800-274-2237, x3120
wpace@aafp.org

Poster presentation, North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) annual meeting, Vancouver BC, Canada, October 22, 2007:
Bonham AJ, Stewart TV, Galliher JM, Pace WD, Meyers D, Hamblin BN, Oppenheimer CEC, Meers AM. Factors Affecting Family Physicians’ Willingness to Provide Unreimbursed Care.

This project was supported by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).