Family physician resource use for inpatient care: a comparison between military medical center and community hospital.

OBJECTIVE

Family physicians' use of resources in different inpatient settings has not been explored. The hypothesis is that family physicians use fewer resources in a community hospital than in a medical center.

METHODS

Patients consecutively discharged from the family practice services of an academic medical center and a community hospital (5,060) were compared with respect to length of stay, testing, and consultation rate.

RESULTS

The military academic medical center had an increased average length of stay, diagnostic testing, and consultations on univariate analysis. However, on multivariate analysis, length of stay was no different but the laboratory testing and consultation rate were higher for the academic center.

CONCLUSION

Family physicians at this military academic medical center used more testing and requested consultations more often than those practicing in a community hospital, controlling for patient demographics and illness severity. There may be a culture at the academic center that encourages increased use of resources.