UK fares well in survey of primary care, but US doesn't

doi:10.1136/bmj.39024.460463.DB

BMJ 2006;333:985 (11 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.39024.460463.DB

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UK fares well in survey of primary care, but US doesn't

Janice Hopkins Tanne

¹ New York

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The United Kingdom is a leader in electronicpatient records and reminder systems, an international surveyof about 7000 primary care doctors shows. The UK also leadsin providing care by nurses or doctors outside working hours(and outside the emergency room), in taking a team approachto care of patients with multiple or chronic illnesses, andin offering doctors financial incentives to improve their qualityof care, the survey, which was carried out in seven countries,found.

"The US outspends the other countries. Totalper capita costs in 2003 [in the US] came to $5635 [£2950, ${euro}$ 4400] compared to $2231 in the UK. Yet US primary care physicianpractices are more limited than the leading countries in informationcapacity, provide less patient access outside of ‘normal'work hours, and are among the least likely to use teams or toreceive financial rewards for quality," the report says.