The Cost Implications of Academic Group Practice

We evaluated the reorganization of a general medical clinic into several group practices, using equivalent groups of patients and physicians in a randomized controlled trial. The group practice, unlike the traditional clinic, provided decentralized registration, clinic coverage five days a week, and telephone coverage at night and on weekends. Residents worked in small groups with an attending physician, nurse practitioner, and receptionist. All financial activity involving a sample of 2299 patients was followed during the 11-month intervention. The total hospital charges per patient were 26 percent lower for the patients seen in the group practice than for those seen in the traditional clinic (P = 0.003). This difference was primarily attributable to inpatient charges, which were 27 percent lower per patient hospitalized (P = 0.004). The mean length of stay was 8.3 days among group-practice patients and 10.5 days among traditional-clinic patients (P = 0.011). We conclude that organizational changes to improve outpatient access and to integrate inpatient and outpatient services can decrease medical charges.