title: Physician patterns in the provision of health care to their own employees.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the level of medical and mental health care that family physicians provide to employees.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mailed survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Family practices in Oklahoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred ninety-one of 735 physicians assessed via the membership roster of the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of physician respondents (55.6%) reported providing routine health care always or most of the time to employees. Rural practice sites were associated with the provision of broader medical services (Spearman's p = -.35, P < .00001); 51.7% of respondents reported providing routine health care always or most of the time to employees' families. Breast and genital examinations were more likely to be undertaken in family members (67.2%) compared with employees (50.0%). Only a minority of physician respondents (12.3%) reported providing mental health care always or most of the time to employees; 53% never or rarely provided this service. When mental health care was addressed, respondents provided counseling alone (28.6%), prescription of psychotropic medication alone (8.8%), or both (62.7%). Antidepressants (50.7%) and nonbenzodiazepine anxiolytic agents (36.2%) were most frequently prescribed. When asked about ideal conditions, a significant minority of physician respondents (41.3%) preferred to refer employees to colleagues for medical care, and 59.8% preferred to refer for mental health care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of family physicians in this study reported providing medical care to their employees, whereas only a minority provide mental health care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine, Tulsa, USA.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sansome
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Sansone
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Wiederman
mesh_terms: D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005192:Family Health; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D009825:Oklahoma; D010548:Personal Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce