When it comes to saving American lives, don’t look to cardiologists, oncologists or even the made-for-TV heroes in the ER. It’s primary-care providers who offer the best hope of reversing the devastating decline in U.S. life expectancy.
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That’s the conclusion reached by experts who study America’s fractured health-care system.
A 2019 study based on U.S. population data and published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that every 10 additional primary-care physicians per 100,000 people was associated with a 51.5-day increase in life expectancy.
In this episode, Josh spoke with Bob Phillips and Andrew Bazemore, leaders at the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). Dr. Phillips is the Executive Director of the Center for Professionalism & Value in Health Care at the ABFM. Dr. Bazemore is the Senior Vice President of Research and Policy for the ABFM.
University of Oxford professor John Bell, a native of Canada, offers a sobering assessment of what other high-income nations see when they view life expectancy in the United States.
“You know you’ll never be last, because America is always last,” Bell said.