Performance of the "house doctor". Effect of physician-to-patient ratio on follow up in long-term care facilities.

Do physicians with many patients in a long-term care facility provide more timely follow up of their drug orders than those with only a few? We reviewed 60 charts at random in three intermediate care facilities. Physician practices fell into two distinct groups. Those with more than 17 patients followed up sooner than those with fewer than six. We recommend a "house doctor" model of care for patients whose follow up is poor.