BMJ  2007;334 (16 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.39246.470764.3A

Editor's Choice

US editor's choice

Someone to watch over me

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

Millions of Americans are without the medical oversight and continuity of care that is provided by primary care doctors. Numerous US physician organizations have called for the development of a "medical home" model of care delivery that links patients to personal primary care physicians. These pleas have been made by, among others, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. They have been largely unheeded and have not led to changes in the reimbursement and administrative barriers that make primary care unattractive to US doctors. As a result, in many areas of the US the supply of primary care physicians is not adequate to meet demand. A recent Boston Globe article reported that "all, or almost all" of Massachusetts General Hospital's 178 primary care physicians are not taking new patients. "There is no ability to get anyone in except as a . . . [Full text of this article]

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