Preventive care visits to primary care providers, including pediatrics and ob/gyn, are on the rise in the U.S., the CDC reported.
The percentage of visits to the doctor's office for reasons such as yearly exams and screenings increased roughly 5% from the baseline years of 2001-2002 to the comparison years of 2009-2010, Michael Albert, MD, and Linda F. McCaig, MPH, of the CDC, wrote in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The survey defined preventive care visits as "General medical examinations and routine periodic examinations." These exams included prenatal/postnatal care, yearly physicals, well-child visits, screenings, and exams for insurance purposes.
No subspecialty visits were included in the calculation.
Albert and McCaig separated primary care physicians into four categories: general and family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and ob/gyn, and compared the average number of visits in the years 2001-2002 with the average number of visits during the years 2009-2010, noting what percentage of visits were for preventive care.
All four physician categories experienced an increase in the rate of preventive care visits. Even ob/gyn, which already had a rate of preventive care visits in excess of 60%, reached nearly 70% in the later year range.
Pediatricians went from just over 30% to close to 40%, and both general/family practice and internal medicine saw an uptick from roughly 15% to near 20%.
The Affordable Care Act did not begin expanding healthcare coverage to uninsured Americans until 2010.
Centers for Disease ControlSource Reference: Fischer M, et al "QuickStats: percentage of office visits for which preventive care was the major reason for visit, by selected specialties -- national ambulatory medical care survey, United States, 2001-2002 and 2009-2010" MMWR 2014; 63(24): 533.