Improved Health Care Access Tops Women's Wish List

"If we want to know what patients want from us as family physicians, we need to ask them" and then address their concerns, AAFP President Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn., told AAFP News Now shortly before an interactive press conference in Washington, D.C., on May 29. He was referring to the results of a Harris Poll survey commissioned by the AAFP that indicate a whopping 90 percent of women shoulder health care responsibilities for themselves and their families.

The survey, titled Fixing Health Care: What Women Want (9-page PDF; About PDFs), was conducted March 20-24 and gathered responses to questions about health care from 1,270 U.S. women age 18 and older. The poll results are an important resource for the Academy as it continues to help family physicians provide the patient-centered care "that our patients need and deserve," King said in the interview.

According to the Harris poll, women put better access to their primary care physicians at the top of their wish lists. In fact, 68 percent of women surveyed rated same-day appointments as "very important" or "extremely important." On the other hand, only 40 percent of women considered evening or weekend appointments an important piece of their access to health care.

Survey results also indicate that

That's clearly not the case today; poll results show that only 39 percent of women said all members of their family currently share the same primary care physician.

Physician practices with up-to-date health information technology drew positive responses from survey respondents. About half of those surveyed want their primary care physician to electronically communicate with them, schedule appointments and send their prescriptions to the pharmacy.

King called the survey results "unsettling" during the press conference, because they indicate that many patients aren't getting the health care services they want from their physicians.

The poll results also focus a spotlight on some of the most significant cost drivers in America's health care system, said King. For instance, patients are more likely to turn to expensive ER care when their physicians don't offer flexible office hours during the workday or cannot accommodate same-day appointments for an acute illness.

Lack of communication among physicians who are treating the same patient leads to duplicative diagnostic testing that also ratchets up the cost of health care, said King.

On the other hand, because family physicians focus on preventive care and early diagnosis of chronic disease, patients generally stay healthier. "That prevents unnecessary hospitalizations," said King, which, in turn, contributes to cost savings in the system.

Moving family physician practices closer to the patient-centered medical home model of care (3-page PDF; About PDFs) will give American women what they say they want and will also help keep a lid on health care costs, said King.

Furthermore, the Academy will continue to offer FPs the tools they need to make necessary practice changes to get to that model, said King. He cited TransforMED, the Academy's practice redesign initiative, and the AAFP's Practice Support Division as critical resources for family physicians to tap into to find those tools.