RIAFP Policy
Brief: 7/19/00
Family Physicians and the Cost of Health Care in
Rhode Island
Family physicians
are the cornerstone of efficient health care systems all around the
world.
The United States
has the most expensive health care system in the world. We have relatively
few family physicians. Countries which rely more on family physicians
have better outcomes for less cost.
Rhode Island
has one of the most expensive health care systems in the United States.
In 1997, we were rated 6th most expensive state, per member per month,
for Medicare recipients.
A common denominator
runs through the ten most expensive states. Of the ten most expensive
states, six of those states are among the ten states with the smallest
percentage of a state's physicians who are family physicians.
A similar common
denominator runs through the least expensive states. Of the ten least
expensive states, seven are among the ten states with the greatest
percentage of a state's physicians who are family physicians.
About seven percent
of Rhode Island Physicians are Family Physicians, which make us 45th
in the nation for the percentage of our physicians who are family
physicians.
According to
our health insurers, Rhode Island spends a greater part of our health
care dollars on hospitals, tests and specialists then other states
do, and a smaller part of our health care dollars on primary care
than other states do.
Family physicians
focus on relationship, on meeting people where they are, knowing who
they are, and helping people improve their health in the context of
their communities. This focus on relationship helps people think about
what is appropriate for them, not just what their insurance company
will pay for. This focus on relationship creates a culture of rationality,
one in which health care dollars are spent where health care dollars
are needed, and not spent where they are not needed.
This is one
in a series of reports designed to advance Family Practice and primary
care in Rhode Island's health care system, as well as to discuss public
health issues of importance to all Rhode Islanders.
We welcome
the opportunity to further discuss the issues presented here. We can
be reached by phone at 401-453-4176, or by email at info@riafp.org.
7/19/00
