A survey of primary care physicians in eleven countries, 2009: perspectives on care, costs, and experiences

Health Aff (Millwood). 2009 Nov-Dec;28(6):w1171-83. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.6.w1171. Epub 2009 Nov 2.

Abstract

This 2009 survey of primary care doctors in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States finds wide differences in practice systems, incentives, perceptions of access to care, use of health information technology (IT), and programs to improve quality. Response rates exceeded 40 percent except in four countries: Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. U.S. and Canadian physicians lag in the adoption of IT. U.S. doctors were the most likely to report that there are insurance restrictions on obtaining medication and treatment for their patients and that their patients often have difficulty with costs. We believe that opportunities exist for cross-national learning in disease management, use of teams, and performance feedback to improve primary care globally.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Electronic Health Records / statistics & numerical data
  • Health Care Surveys
  • Health Services Accessibility / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Internationality
  • Medical Informatics Applications*
  • Physicians, Primary Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians' / economics
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians' / statistics & numerical data*
  • Reimbursement, Incentive
  • Surveys and Questionnaires