By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Older patients account for a majority of physician office visits, which increasingly involve specialists who treat chronic conditions, according to government statistics.
Patients 45 and older made 57% of all physician office visits in 2008, compared with 49% in 1998. Medical and surgical specialists accounted for 55% of office visits among patients 65 and older and 48% of visits among patients ages 45 to 64.
U.S. demographics virtually assure that the trends in physician-service use will continue, possibly at a more rapid pace, findings from a study by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) suggest.
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