Hi, everyone. I'm Dr Kenny Lin. I am a family physician at Georgetown University Medical Center, and I blog at Common Sense Family Doctor.
Kenneth W. Lin, MD, MPH
One of the most cited studies in the preventive medicine literature estimated the amount of time it would take the average US primary care physician to provide all clinical preventive services recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to a nationally representative patient panel. In 2003, this task would have required 1773 hours annually, or 7.4 hours per working day. A different team updated this estimate for a patient panel of 2500 adults based on the 2020 USPSTF recommendations and found that it would now require 8.6 hours per working day, leaving no time for a primary care physician to provide care for patients' acute or chronic medical problems.
Some healthcare systems attempt to shift some of the burden from the physician by empowering support staff to provide certain preventive services. For example, in my practice, medical assistants perform the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 for depression and the AUDIT-C for risky alcohol use; administer influenza vaccines; and determine whether patients are due for cancer screenings before I enter the room. But this time-saving measure can backfire when screenings happen too frequently or clinicians fail to act on the results.
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How We Could Actually Do Prevention in Primary Care
Kenneth W. Lin, MD, MPH
DisclosuresJanuary 06, 2022
Editorial Collaboration
Medscape &
Hi, everyone. I'm Dr Kenny Lin. I am a family physician at Georgetown University Medical Center, and I blog at Common Sense Family Doctor.
Kenneth W. Lin, MD, MPH
One of the most cited studies in the preventive medicine literature estimated the amount of time it would take the average US primary care physician to provide all clinical preventive services recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to a nationally representative patient panel. In 2003, this task would have required 1773 hours annually, or 7.4 hours per working day. A different team updated this estimate for a patient panel of 2500 adults based on the 2020 USPSTF recommendations and found that it would now require 8.6 hours per working day, leaving no time for a primary care physician to provide care for patients' acute or chronic medical problems.
Some healthcare systems attempt to shift some of the burden from the physician by empowering support staff to provide certain preventive services. For example, in my practice, medical assistants perform the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 for depression and the AUDIT-C for risky alcohol use; administer influenza vaccines; and determine whether patients are due for cancer screenings before I enter the room. But this time-saving measure can backfire when screenings happen too frequently or clinicians fail to act on the results.
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Cite this: How We Could Actually Do Prevention in Primary Care - Medscape - Jan 06, 2022.
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Authors and Disclosures
Authors and Disclosures
Author
Kenneth W. Lin, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine; Staff Physician, MedStar Health Center, Family Medicine, Washington, DC
Disclosure: Kenneth W. Lin, MD, MPH, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Serve(d) as a director, officer, partner, employee, advisor, consultant or trustee for: MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Received income in an amount equal to or greater than $250 from: UpToDate; Wiley-Blackwell; American Academy of Family Physicians