Specialty of Ambulatory Care Physicians and Mortality among Elderly Patients after Myocardial Infarction

The outcome after myocardial infarction may be influenced by the type of physician providing ambulatory care.We studied 35,520 patients 65 years of age or older who were hospitalized for myocardial infarction in seven states during 1994 and 1995 and who survived for at least three months after discharge. From Medicare claims, we identified ambulatory visits to cardiologists, internists, and family practitioners. Using propensity scores to adjust...