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Does Physician Retirement Affect Patients? A Systematic Review
Author(s) -
Lam Kenneth,
Arnold Cameron G.,
Savage Rachel D.,
Stall Nathan M.,
Zhu Lynn,
Wu Wei,
Piggott Katrina,
Bronskill Susan E.,
Rochon Paula A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/jgs.16216
Subject(s) - medicine , medline , psycinfo , family medicine , feeling , qualitative research , systematic review , affect (linguistics) , linguistics , philosophy , political science , law , psychology , social psychology , social science , sociology
OBJECTIVES Older patients that have aged with their doctors will likely experience their physician retiring. It is unclear if this interruption in continuity of care leaves patients at risk for adverse events or whether a new physician improves care. We sought to identify and synthesize findings from all articles examining the association between physician retirement and patient outcomes. DESIGN Systematic review. We searched English‐language articles cataloged in Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and PsycINFO, from database inception to May 4, 2018. PARTICIPANTS Any patient whose physician (generalist or specialist) retired. INTERVENTION Physician retirement, defined as voluntary practice closure, death, or departure. MEASUREMENTS Articles were categorized as anecdotes, qualitative studies, or quantitative studies. Each patient outcome was indexed under one of 11 themes (eg, adverse event, difficulty accessing care) and classified as favorable, neutral, or unfavorable. Patient outcomes included but were not limited to clinical (eg, death), resource utilization (eg, hospitalization), treatment plan adherence (eg, access to medications), and patient satisfaction (eg, expressed frustration). Two reviewers independently assessed study quality. RESULTS Of 2099 articles screened, 17 met inclusion criteria: 12 anecdotes, 2 qualitative studies, and 3 quantitative studies. Most patient outcomes described were unfavorable. These included feelings of loss, difficulties with transition to a new provider, adverse clinical outcomes, and increased use of high‐cost services. The quality of qualitative studies was high, but that of quantitative studies was poor or moderate. CONCLUSION Current evidence from qualitative studies suggests physician retirement affects patients unfavorably and that patients are vulnerable during this transition of care. High‐quality quantitative research is lacking to identify whether this disproportionately affects older adults and whether physician retirement has significant consequences for the broader healthcare system. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:641–649, 2020