PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - W. O. Spitzer
AU  - R. S. Roberts
AU  - T. Delmore
TI  - Nurse practitioners in primary care. VI. Assessment of their deployment with the Utilization and Financial Index
DP  - 1976 Jun 19
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 1103--1108
VI  - 114
IP  - 12
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/114/12/1103.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/114/12/1103.full
SO  - CMAJ1976 Jun 19; 114
AB  - The impact of multidisciplinary teams that incorporate nurse practitioners on total use of health services was measured with the new Utilization and Financial Index (UF-Index). The data from two studies, a randomized controlled trial and a before-and-after study, showed that, in spite of large increases in use of ambulatory services by practice populations served by family physician-nurse practitioner teams, the ultimate effect has been a substantial reduction in total use of health services. The effect was associated with major reductions in hospital care for the same populations. Such economic advantages to society proved feasible within a fee-for-service context and in settings where rigorous evidence demonstrated no concurrent deterioration in health status of patients or in quality of care.