Association Between Licensing Examination Scores and Resource Use and Quality of Care in Primary Care Practice

Abstract

PRIMARY CARE physicians are the foundation of westernized health care. They manage episodic and chronic illness, play a central role in instituting interventions for primary and secondary disease prevention, prescribe and monitor the majority of drug treatment, and function as the entry point to costly health care resources.^1-7 The quality of care delivered by primary care physicians and their use of resources can have a considerable impact on the cost-effectiveness of health care delivery.³ Preventive care,^8-11 prescribing,^12-20 and chronic disease management^21-28 have been identified as areas in which quality of care could be improved.