A comparison of the content of army family practice with nonfederal family practice.

BACKGROUND

To assist with planning for education and practice, family physicians should know the practice content of their practices. The present study compared the content of nonfederal family practice with Army family practice to explore their differences.

METHODS

This was a secondary analysis that compared the similar variables within two national data sets: The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the Army's Ambulatory Care Data Base.

RESULTS

Army patients were younger and more likely to be female than were nonfederal patients. Army family physicians spent more time with patients in all groups than did nonfederal family physicians. While 12 of the top 20 diagnosis clusters of each sector were the same, there were differences found in the percentages of total visits contained within the top 20 clusters.

CONCLUSIONS

Both nonfederal and Army family practice have a wide variation in patients and diagnoses. The two sectors are different in patient age and the frequency of different diagnoses. Knowledge of these differences can assist with planning.