A new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine has found that patients who see physicians with extended office hours may spend less on healthcare.
Survey data from more than 30,700 Americans found 36 percent of patients said their physicians offered weekend and evening hours. Those patients spent 10 percent less on medical care over two years compared with those who saw physicians during traditional weekday hours. That rounds out to a difference of more than $1,000.
The cause/effect relationship is unknown, as it was an observational study that looked at the relationship between office hours and spending. But lead researcher Anthony Jerant, MD, faculty member at the University of California Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento, identified a likely explanation.
"It may be that extended hours is a marker for more cost-conscious practice overall," he said in a Reuters Health report, suggesting extended office hours as one way physicians are approaching patient-centered care that is also more cognizant of cost.
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Survey data from more than 30,700 Americans found 36 percent of patients said their physicians offered weekend and evening hours. Those patients spent 10 percent less on medical care over two years compared with those who saw physicians during traditional weekday hours. That rounds out to a difference of more than $1,000.
The cause/effect relationship is unknown, as it was an observational study that looked at the relationship between office hours and spending. But lead researcher Anthony Jerant, MD, faculty member at the University of California Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento, identified a likely explanation.
"It may be that extended hours is a marker for more cost-conscious practice overall," he said in a Reuters Health report, suggesting extended office hours as one way physicians are approaching patient-centered care that is also more cognizant of cost.
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