Great question Brian. I think its important to note that "Enhanced access" may be defined differently from one primary care practice to another, however generally it refers to spending more "quality time" with your physician in the office with longer more thorough visits and having your physician's cell phone number. Extended visits allow more time for questions, discussing preventative care measures, as well as more time for your physician to coordinate care among your other doctors.
You might be interested in checking out an article from the New England Journal of Medicine regarding transforming primary care practice that references a very compelling patient study:
Overstressed by large patient panels, many primary care practices are performing below par. In one study, patients explaining their problem to a physician were interrupted after an average of 23 seconds. Fifty percent of patients leave office visits not understanding what the physician has told them. It would take a primary care physician 18 hours per day to provide all recommended preventive and chronic care services to a typical patient panel. As a result, only half of evidence-based care is actually provided.1 These disturbing findings can be attributed primarily to the overburdened 15-minute clinician visit.
The article also presents some possible changes to primary care business models, specifically concierge care and team-based approaches that are also super interesting solutions that you should check out as well.
