Primary care practitioners' likelihood to engage in a bio-psychosocial approach: an additional perspective on the doctor-patient relationship.

On the basis of a comprehensive study among Israeli primary care practitioners a multivariate framework aimed at furthering the understanding of salaried physicians' likelihood to engage in a bio-psychosocial approach has been developed and empirically verified. The framework augments earlier work on physicians' behavior by further specifying the concept of bio-psychosocial approach and the incentives and preconditions for such an approach. Multivariate analysis highlights the weight of the motivating, facilitating and impeding factors in shaping the primary care practitioners' likelihood to engage in a bio-psychosocial approach. Conclusions are drawn regarding implications for the organization of care providing organizations.