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KMID : 0384320050260070404
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Korean Journal of Family Medicine
2005 Volume.26 No. 7 p.404 ~ p.411
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Is Primary Care of Family Medicine better in Quality than that of Other Specialties?
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Baek Kuk-Hyun
Park Eal-Whan
Hong Nam-Eui
Jo Jun-Woo
Choi Eun-Young
Cheong Yoo-Seock
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Abstract
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Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of primary care by patient-completed questionnaire, and to investigate whether the results of the assessment were different among the specialties of doctors (especially family medicine) and according to the existence of a family doctor.
Methods: The questionnaire, which covers 7 components of primary care (accessibility, continuity, accountability, comprehensiveness, integration, sustained partnership with patients, whole person orientation), was administered to the applicants of health screening center of a university hospital, and factory workers in Cheonan, and residents living in Seoul. Statistic analysis was performed through the collected samples.
Results: Total of 574 subjects were analyzed. The mean score (%) of each component of the total sample was as follows; accessibility 45.8, continuity 47.8, comprehensiveness 22.5, accountability 55.5, integration 41.8, sustained partnership with patients 48.9, and whole person orientation 31.8. The mean score (%) of all components were 42.0. Doctors were classified into internists, general surgeons, family physicians, general physicians, and others. Family physicians had the best score in accessibility (P=0.01). The mean score of all components of family physicians was better than that of internists and the other specialties (P＜0.05). The respondents who had a family doctor was 129 (22.5%). The mean score of each component was higher than those without a family doctor (P＜0.05).
Conclusion: Family physicians are providing high quality primary care compared to internists and other specialists. Patients who have a family doctor are provided with higher quality primary care than those who do not. Especially, comprehensiveness and whole person orientation need to be improved.
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KEYWORD
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primary care, quality assessment, family medicine, family doctor
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