Table 1. Comparison of Primary Care Physicians Participating in the Swiss Primary Care Active Monitoring Network (n = 200) Compared with a Random Sample of Primary Care Physicians Chosen as a Comparison Group (n = 200)
CharacteristicPCPs from SPAM (n = 200)PCPs from Comparison Group (n = 200)P Value
Female sex (%)46 (23)42 (21).629
Member of FMH (%)183 (92)186 (93).575
Mean year of diploma (SD)1983 (7.60)1984 (7.94).629
Mean age, years (SD)*53.8 (7.60)53.4 (7.94).629
Primary language (%).004
    German123 (62)152 (76)
    French69 (35)46 (23)
    Italian8 (4)2 (1)
Practice Location Based on Federal Office of Statistics Categorization, n (%).177
    Urban center65 (33)70 (35)
    Suburbs78 (39)76 (38)
    Rural57 (29)54 (27)

  • ↵* Age estimated by adding 25 years to the year when participants received their medical school diploma.

  • FMH, Swiss Medical Association; PCP, primary care physician; SD, standard deviation; SPAM, Swiss Primary Care Active Monitoring network.