BACKGROUND The loss of family physicians as obstetrics providers during the last decade has had a significant impact on access to obstetric services, especially for rural populations. The expense of malpractice premiums has been cited often as a reason for physicians' discontinuation of this service. METHODS Seventy-six family physicians in northern California who recently discontinued obstet...

Background: One of the challenges of implementing the family physician program is the decrease in the number of doctors, especially in rural and deprived areas, the present study aimed to determine the intentions of family physicians to persist in the health centers affiliated in Hormozgan city. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 195 physicians in the health centers implement...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Patient satisfaction with the family physician program is an important factor for more favorable treatment results. Evaluation of patient satisfaction improves the services and approximates them to patient's preferences. The family physician program has been executed since late March, 2005 in Iran. This study aimed to measure patient satisfaction with family physician ...

Background: In recent years use of family physicians has been determined as a start point of health system reform to achieve more productive health services. In this study we aimed to assess the cost-efficiency of the implementation of this plan in Fars province, southern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was done in 2007 in 18 provincial health centers as well as 22...

BACKGROUND Women physicians are less likely then men to practice in rural areas. With women representing an increasing proportion of physicians, there is concern that this could exacerbate the rural physician shortage. The Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP) of Jefferson Medical College (JMC) is one of a small number of medical school rural programs shown to be successful in addressing the r...

Background Following the implementation of family physician plan in rural areas, the quantity of provided services has been increased, but what leads on the next topic is the improvement in expected quality of service, as well. The present study aims at determining the gap between patients’ expectation and perception from the quality of services provided by family physicians during the spring a...

background: who suggest that family physician is the core in the world efforts for quality improvement, cost ef­fectiveness, and equity in the health care systems. this study evaluates the impact of the program on accessibility of the services, case finding, patient referral, feedback process and insurance coverage in the rural health units. methods: this study was quasi experimental. it compar...