AMOSIST Program Field Evaluation Physician Savings and Cost Effectiveness.
Abstract
In response to the continuing shortage of physicians in the military, the US Army has recently developed a health care delivery system (the AMOSIST Program) which employs physician supervised enlisted corpsmen (AMOSISTs) in Acute Minor Illness Clinics (AMICS) to treat unappointed ambulatory outpatients through the use of printed manuals of medical algorithms. The present report (the second of four to be written) presents the findings regarding the questions concerning the extent, if any, to which this physician extender program (a) saves physicians' time and (b) is cost effective. The analyses indicated that the physician time required to treat the average patient in the traditional, physician-staffed general out-patient clinic (GOC) was significantly larger than the amount of physician time required to treat the average patient treated in an AMIC. The average cost per patient was determined by individually weighting the treatment times by the hourly wage equivalents of the salaries of the principal care providers involved in the care of each patient. The analyses of this data indicated that AMIC-provided care was significantly less expensive than that of GOC-provided care at the level of physician care/consultation costs which would normally be encountered at such clinics. Additional clinic time parameters were also reported. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA061146
Entities
People
- Aaron W. Schopper
Organizations
- Academy of Health Sciences