Provision and Use of Navy Medicine Primary Care: Empirical Background for Optimization

The purpose of this research memorandum is to report and comment on the findings of an analysis of Navy Medicine Primary Care (NMPC) to members of the Primary Care Product Line (PCPL) Advisory Board (the Board) and to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED). This report is part of the support that CNA is providing to the product line. It analyzes Ambulatory Data System (ADS) records of visits made to Navy Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs) during FY 2000, as well as data from two Department of Defense (DOD) surveys that provide information on the satisfaction of users of NMPC. Its intent is to provide empirical information as background to the Board's and BUMED's optimization activities. In this report, we describe what NMPC is, based on what primary care providers (PCPs) do in Navy MTF primary care (PC) settings, and identify how and to what extent the content and nature of NMPC varies by provider and setting. This approaches NMPC from the supply side - what care is provided by whom, and where. Its focus is not on how much care is provided (e.g., number of visits) but rather on the nature and distribution of that care (e.g., percentage of visits by clinical content and provider type).