Effects of Patient-Centered Medical Home Attributes on Patients’ Perceptions of Quality in Federally Supported Health Centers

PURPOSE

We sought to assess patients’ ratings of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) attributes and overall quality of care within federally supported health centers.

METHODS

Data were collected through the 2009 Health Center Patient Survey (n = 4,562), which consisted of in-person interviews and included a nationally representative sample of patients seen in health centers. Quality measures included patients’ perceptions of overall quality of services, perceptions of quality of clinician advice/treatment, and likelihood of referring friends and relatives to the health center. PCMH attributes included (1) access to care getting to health center, (2) access to care during visit, (3) patient-centered communication with health care clinicians, (4) patient-centered communication with support staff, (5) self-management support for chronic conditions, (6) self-management support for behavioral risks, and (7) comprehensive preventive care. Bivariate analysis and logistic regressions were used to examine associations between patients’ perceptions of PCMH attributes and patient-reported quality of care.

RESULTS

Eighty-four percent of patients reported excellent/very good overall quality of services, 81% reported excellent/very good quality of clinician care, and 84% were very likely to refer friends and relatives. Higher patient ratings on the access to care and patient-centered communication attributes were associated with higher odds of patient-reported high quality of care on the 3 outcome measures.

CONCLUSIONS

More than 80% of patients perceived high quality of care in health centers. PCMH attributes related to access to care and communication were associated with greater likelihood of patients reporting high-quality care.     

Health Status and Health Care Experiences among Homeless Patients in Federally Supported Health Centers: Findings from the 2009 Patient Survey

Objective

To examine health status and health care experiences of homeless patients in health centers and to compare them with their nonhomeless counterparts.

Data Sources/Study Setting

Nationally representative data from the 2009 Health Center Patient Survey.

Study Design

Cross-sectional analyses were limited to adults (n = 2,683). We compared sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, access to health care, and utilization of services among homeless and nonhomeless patients. We also examined the independent effect of homelessness on health care access and utilization, as well as factors that influenced homeless patients'' health care experiences.

Data Collection

Computer-assisted personal interviews were conducted with health center patients.

Principal Findings

Homeless patients had worse health status—lifetime burden of chronic conditions, mental health problems, and substance use problems—compared with housed respondents. In adjusted analyses, homeless patients had twice the odds as housed patients of having unmet medical care needs in the past year (OR = 1.98, 95 percent CI: 1.24–3.16) and twice the odds of having an ED visit in the past year (OR = 2.00, 95 percent CI: 1.37–2.92).

Conclusions

There is an ongoing need to focus on the health issues that disproportionately affect homeless populations. Among health center patients, homelessness is an independent risk factor for unmet medical needs and ED use.     

Ethnic differences in appointment-keeping and implications for the patient-centered medical home--findings from the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE)

Objective

To examine ethnic differences in appointment-keeping in a managed care setting.

Data Sources/Study Setting

Kaiser Permanente Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE), 2005–2007, n = 12,957.

Study Design

Cohort study. Poor appointment-keeping (PAK) was defined as missing >1/3 of planned, primary care appointments. Poisson regression models were used to estimate ethnic-specific relative risks of PAK (adjusting for demographic, socio-economic, health status, and facility effects).

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Administrative/electronic health records and survey responses.

Principal Findings

Poor appointment-keeping rates differed >2-fold across ethnicities: Latinos (12 percent), African Americans (10 percent), Filipinos (7 percent), Caucasians (6 percent), and Asians (5 percent), but also varied by medical center. Receiving >50 percent of outpatient care via same-day appointments was associated with a 4-fold greater PAK rate. PAK was associated with 20, 30, and 40 percent increased risk of elevated HbA1c (>7 percent), low-density lipoprotein (>100 mm/dl), and systolic blood pressure (>130 mmHg), respectively.

Conclusions

Latinos and African Americans were at highest risk of missing planned primary care appointments. PAK was associated with a greater reliance on same-day visits and substantively poorer clinical outcomes. These results have important implications for public health and health plan policy, as primary care rapidly expands toward open access to care supported by the patient-centered medical home model.     

Influence of Shared Medical Appointments on Patient Satisfaction: A Retrospective 3-Year Study

PURPOSE

Shared medical appointments (SMAs) are becoming popular, but little is known about their association with patient experience in primary care. We performed an exploratory analysis examining overall satisfaction and patient-centered care experiences across key domains of the patient-centered medical home among patients attending SMAs vs usual care appointments.

METHODS

We undertook a cross-sectional study using a mailed questionnaire measuring levels of patient satisfaction and other indicators of patient-centered care among 921 SMA and 921 usual care patients between 2008 and 2010. Propensity scores adjusted for potential case mix differences between the groups. Multivariate logistic regression assessed propensity-matched patients’ ratings of care. Generalized estimating equations accounted for physician-level clustering.

RESULTS

A total of 40% of SMA patients and 31% of usual care patients responded. In adjusted analyses, SMA patients were more likely to rate their overall satisfaction with care as “very good” when compared with usual care counterparts (odds ratio = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05–1.52). In the analysis of patient-centered medical home elements, SMA patients rated their care as more accessible and more sensitive to their needs, whereas usual care patients reported greater satisfaction with physician communication and time spent during their appointment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, SMA patients appear more satisfied with their care relative to patients receiving usual care. SMAs may also improve access to care and deliver care that patients find to be sensitive to their needs. Further research should focus on enhancing patient-clinician communication within an SMA as this model of care becomes more widely adopted.     

Annals Journal Club: Frequency and Prioritization of Patient Health Risks from a Structured Health Risk Assessment

PURPOSE

To describe the frequency and patient-reported readiness to change, desire to discuss, and perceived importance of 13 health risk factors in a diverse range of primary care practices.

METHODS

Patients (n = 1,707) in 9 primary care practices in the My Own Health Report (MOHR) trial reported general, behavioral, and psychosocial risk factors (body mass index [BMI], health status, diet, physical activity, sleep, drug use, stress, anxiety or worry, and depression). We classified responses as “at risk” or “healthy” for each factor, and patients indicated their readiness to change and/or desire to discuss identified risk factors with providers. Patients also selected 1 of the factors they were ready to change as most important. We then calculated frequencies within and across these factors and examined variation by patient characteristics and across practices.

RESULTS

On average, patients had 5.8 (SD = 2.12; range, 0–13) unhealthy behaviors and mental health risk factors. About 55% of patients had more than 6 risk factors. On average, patients wanted to change 1.2 and discuss 0.7 risks. The most common risks were inadequate fruit/vegetable consumption (84.5%) and overweight/obesity (79.6%). Patients were most ready to change BMI (33.3%) and depression (30.7%), and most wanted to discuss depression (41.9%) and anxiety or worry (35.2%). Overall, patients rated health status as most important.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementing routine comprehensive health risk assessments in primary care will likely identify a high number of behavioral and psychosocial health risks. By soliciting patient priorities, providers and patients can better manage counseling and behavior change.     

Engaging Primary Care Patients to Use a Patient-Centered Personal Health Record

PURPOSE

Health care leaders encourage clinicians to offer portals that enable patients to access personal health records, but implementation has been a challenge. Although large integrated health systems have promoted use through costly advertising campaigns, other implementation methods are needed for small to medium-sized practices where most patients receive their care.

METHODS

We conducted a mixed methods assessment of a proactive implementation strategy for a patient portal (an interactive preventive health record [IPHR]) offered by 8 primary care practices. The practices implemented a series of learning collaboratives with practice champions and redesigned workflow to integrate portal use into care. Practice implementation strategies, portal use, and factors influencing use were assessed prospectively.

RESULTS

A proactive and customized implementation strategy designed by practices resulted in 25.6% of patients using the IPHR, with the rate increasing 1.0% per month over 31 months. Fully 23.5% of IPHR users signed up within 1 day of their office visit. Older patients and patients with comorbidities were more likely to use the IPHR, but blacks and Hispanics were less likely. Older age diminished as a factor after adjusting for comorbidities. Implementation by practice varied considerably (from 22.1% to 27.9%, P <.001) based on clinician characteristics and workflow innovations adopted by practices to enhance uptake.

CONCLUSIONS

By directly engaging patients to use a portal and supporting practices to integrate use into care, primary care practices can match or potentially surpass the usage rates achieved by large health systems.     

Effect of usual source of care on depression among Medicare beneficiaries: an application of a simultaneous-equations model

Objective

To investigate whether having a usual source of care (USOC) resulted in lower depression prevalence among the elderly.

Data Sources

The 2001–2003 Medicare Current Beneficiaries Survey and 2002 Area Resource File.

Study Design

Twenty thousand four hundred and fifty-five community-dwelling person-years were identified for respondents aged 65+, covered by both Medicare Parts A and B in Medicare fee-for-service for a full year. USOC was defined by the question “Is there a particular medical person or a clinic you usually go to when you are sick or for advice about your health?” Ambulatory care use (ACU) was defined by having at least one physician office visit and/or hospital outpatient visit using Medicare claims. Depression was identified by a two-item screen (sadness and/or anhedonia). All measures were for the past 12 months. A simultaneous-equations (trivariate probit) model was estimated, adjusted for sampling weights and study design effects.

Principal Findings

Based on the simultaneous-equations model, USOC is associated with 3.8 percent lower probability of having depression symptoms (p = .03). Also, it had a positive effect on having any ACU (p<.001). Having any ACU had no statistically significant effect on depression (p = .96).

Conclusions

USOC was associated with lower depression prevalence and higher realized access (ACU) among community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries.     

Impact of Continuity of Care on Mortality and Health Care Costs: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Korea

PURPOSE

Continuity of care is considered a core element of high-quality primary care, but its impact on mortality and health care costs is unclear. We aimed to determine the impact of continuity of care on mortality, costs, and health outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed cardiovascular risk factors.

METHODS

We conducted a cohort study of a 3% nationwide random sample of Korean National Health Insurance enrollees. A total of 47,433 patients who had received new diagnoses of hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, or their complications in 2003 or 2004 were included. We determined standard indices of continuity of care—most frequent provider continuity (MFPC), modified, modified continuity index (MMCI), and continuity of care index (COC)—and evaluated their association with study outcomes over 5 years of follow-up. Outcome measures included overall mortality, cardiovascular mortality, incident cardiovascular events, and health care costs.

RESULTS

The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, incident myocardial infarction, and incident ischemic stroke comparing participants with COC index below the median to those above the median were HR = 1.12 (95% CI, 1.04–1.21), 1.30 (1.13–1.50), 1.57 (1.28–1.95), and 1.44 (1.27–1.63), respectively. Similar findings were obtained for other indices of continuity of care. Lower continuity of care was also associated with increased inpatient and outpatient days and costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower indices of continuity of care in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia were associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular events, and health care costs. Health care systems should be designed to support long-term trusting relationships between patients and physicians.     

Racial/Ethnic Disparity Trends in Children's Mental Health Care Access and Expenditures from 2002 to 2007

Objective

To examine trends in disparities in children''s mental health care.

Data

2002–2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Study Design

We used the Institute of Medicine (IOM) definition of health care disparities and estimated two-part expenditure models to examine disparity trends in any mental health care use, any outpatient care, and psychotropic drug use, as well as expenditures in these three categories, conditional on use. We used 2-year longitudinal panel data to determine disparities in care initiation among children with unmet need.

Principal Findings

Assessing trends over time between 2002 and 2007, we identified that disparities persist for blacks and Latinos in receipt of any mental health care, any outpatient care, and any psychotropic drug use. Among those with positive mental health care expenditures, Latino–white disparities in overall mental health care expenditures increased over time. Among children with unmet need, significant disparities in initiation of an episode of mental health care were found, with whites approximately twice as likely as blacks and Latinos to initiate care.

Conclusions

Disparities in children''s mental health care use are persistent and driven by disparities in initiation, suggesting policies to improve detection or increase initial access to care may be critical to reducing disparities.     

Interactive preventive health record to enhance delivery of recommended care: a randomized trial

PURPOSE

Americans receive only one-half of recommended preventive services. Information technologies have been advocated to engage patients. We tested the effectiveness of an interactive preventive health record (IPHR) that links patients to their clinician’s record, explains information in lay language, displays tailored recommendations and educational resources, and generates reminders.

METHODS

This randomized controlled trial involved 8 primary care practices. Four thousand five hundred patients were randomly selected to receive a mailed invitation to use the IPHR or usual care. Outcomes were measured using patient surveys and electronic medical record data and included IPHR use and service delivery. Comparisons were made between invited and usual-care patients and between users and nonusers among those invited to use the IPHR.

RESULTS

At 4 and 16 months, 229 (10.2%) and 378 (16.8%) of invited patients used the IPHR. The proportion of patients up-to-date with all services increased between baseline and 16 months by 3.8% among intervention patients (from 11.4% to 15.2%, P <.001) and by 1.5% among control patients (from 11.1% to 12.6%, P = .07), a difference of 2.3% (P = .05). Greater increases were observed among patients who used the IPHR. At 16 months, 25.1% of users were up-to-date with all services, double the rate among nonusers. At 4 months, delivery of colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screening increased by 19%, 15%, and 13%, respectively, among users.

CONCLUSIONS

Information systems that feature patient-centered functionality, such as the IPHR, have potential to increase preventive service delivery. Engaging more patients to use systems could have important public health benefits.     

Electronic Medical Records, Nurse Staffing, and Nurse-Sensitive Patient Outcomes: Evidence from California Hospitals, 1998�C2007

Objective

To estimate the effects of electronic medical records (EMR) implementation on medical-surgical acute unit costs, length of stay, nurse staffing levels, nursing skill mix, nurse cost per hour, and nurse-sensitive patient outcomes.

Data Sources

Data on EMR implementation came from the 1998–2007 HIMSS Analytics Databases. Data on nurse staffing and patient outcomes came from the 1998–2007 Annual Financial Disclosure Reports and Patient Discharge Databases of the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).

Methods

Longitudinal analysis of an unbalanced panel of 326 short-term, general acute care hospitals in California. Marginal effects estimated using fixed effects (within-hospital) OLS regression.

Principal Findings

EMR implementation was associated with 6–10 percent higher cost per discharge in medical-surgical acute units. EMR stage 2 increased registered nurse hours per patient day by 15–26 percent and reduced licensed vocational nurse cost per hour by 2–4 percent. EMR stage 3 was associated with 3–4 percent lower rates of in-hospital mortality for conditions.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that advanced EMR applications may increase hospital costs and nurse staffing levels, as well as increase complications and decrease mortality for some conditions. Contrary to expectation, we found no support for the proposition that EMR reduced length of stay or decreased the demand for nurses.     

A Randomized,Controlled Pragmatic Trial of Telephonic Medication Therapy Management to Reduce Hospitalization in Home Health Patients

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of a telephonic medication therapy management (MTM) service on reducing hospitalizations among home health patients.

Setting

Forty randomly selected, geographically diverse home health care centers in the United States.

Design

Two-stage, randomized, controlled trial with 60-day follow-up. All Medicare- insured home health care patients were eligible to participate. Twenty-eight consecutive patients within each care center were recruited and randomized to usual care or MTM intervention. The MTM intervention consisted of the following: (1) initial phone call by a pharmacy technician to verify active medications; (2) pharmacist-provided medication regimen review by telephone; and (3) follow-up pharmacist phone calls at day seven and as needed for 30 days. The primary outcome was 60-day all-cause hospitalization.

Data Collection

Data were collected from in-home nursing assessments using the OASIS-C. Multivariate logistic regression modeled the effect of the MTM intervention on the probability of hospitalization while adjusting for patients’ baseline risk of hospitalization, number of medications taken daily, and other OASIS-C data elements.

Principal Findings

A total of 895 patients (intervention n = 415, control n = 480) were block-randomized to the intervention or usual care. There was no significant difference in the 60-day probability of hospitalization between the MTM intervention and control groups (Adjusted OR: 1.26, 95 percent CI: 0.89–1.77, p = .19). For patients within the lowest baseline risk quartile (n = 232), the intervention group was three times more likely to remain out of the hospital at 60 days (Adjusted OR: 3.79, 95 percent CI: 1.35–10.57, p = .01) compared to the usual care group.

Conclusions

This MTM intervention may not be effective for all home health patients; however, for those patients with the lowest-risk profile, the MTM intervention prevented patients from being hospitalized at 60 days.     

Low infant mortality among Palestine refugees despite the odds

Objective

To present data from a 2008 infant mortality survey conducted in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and analyse infant mortality trends among Palestine refugees in 1995–2005.

Methods

Following the preceding birth technique, mothers who were registering a new birth were asked if the preceding child was alive or dead, the day the child was born and the date of birth of the neonate whose birth was being registered. From this information, neonatal, infant and early child mortality rates were estimated. The age at death for early child mortality was determined by the mean interval between successive births and the mean age of neonates at registration.

Findings

In 2005–2006, infant mortality among Palestine refugees ranged from 28 deaths per 100 000 live births in the Syrian Arab Republic to 19 in Lebanon. Thus, infant mortality in Palestine refugees is among the lowest in the Near East. However, infant mortality has stopped decreasing in recent years, although it remains at a level compatible with the attainment of Millennium Development Goal 4.

Conclusion

Largely owing to the primary health care provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and other entities, infant mortality among Palestine refugees had consistently decreased. However, it is no longer dropping. Measures to address the most likely reasons – early marriage and childbearing, poor socioeconomic conditions and limited access to good perinatal care – are needed.     

Comparison of Cardiovascular Risk Screening Methods and Mortality Data among Hungarian Primary Care Population: Preliminary Results of the First Government-Financed Managed Care Program

Introduction

Besides participation in the primary prevention, screening as secondary prevention is an important requirement for primary care services. The effect of this work is influenced by the characteristics of individual primary care practices and doctors’ screening habits, as well as by the regulation of screening processes and available financial resources. Between 1999 and 2009, a managed care program was introduced and carried out in Hungary, financed by the government. This financial support and motivation gave the opportunity to increase the number of screenings.

Method

4,462 patients of 40 primary care practices were screened on the basis of SCORE risk assessment. The results of the screening were compared on the basis of two groups of patients, namely: those who had been pre-screened (pre-screening method) for known risk factors in their medical history (smoking, BMI, age, family cardiovascular history), and those randomly screened. The authors also compared the mortality data of participating primary care practices with the regional and national data.

Results

The average score was significantly higher in the pre-screened group of patients, regardless of whether the risk factors were considered one by one or in combination. Mortality was significantly lower in the participating primary practices than had been expected on the basis of the national mortality data.

Conclusion

This government-financed program was a big step forward to establish a proper screening method within Hungarian primary care. Performing cardiovascular screening of a selected target group is presumably more appropriate than screening within a randomly selected population. Both methods resulted in a visible improvement in regional mortality data, though it is very likely that with pre-screening a more cost-effective selection for screening may be obtained.     

Typical electronic health record use in primary care practices and the quality of diabetes care

PURPOSE

Recent efforts to encourage meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) assume that widespread adoption will improve the quality of ambulatory care, especially for complex clinical conditions such as diabetes. Cross-sectional studies of typical uses of commercially available ambulatory EHRs provide conflicting evidence for an association between EHR use and improved care, and effects of longer-term EHR use in community-based primary care settings on the quality of care are not well understood.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 16 EHR-using and 26 non–EHR-using practices in 2 northeastern states participating in a group-randomized quality improvement trial. Measures of care were assessed for 798 patients with diabetes. We used hierarchical linear models to examine the relationship between EHR use and adherence to evidence-based diabetes care guidelines, and hierarchical logistic models to compare rates of improvement over 3 years.

RESULTS

EHR use was not associated with better adherence to care guidelines or a more rapid improvement in adherence. In fact, patients in practices that did not use an EHR were more likely than those in practices that used an EHR to meet all of 3 intermediate outcomes targets for hemoglobin A_1c, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure at the 2-year follow-up (odds ratio = 1.67; 95% CI, 1.12–2.51). Although the quality of care improved across all practices, rates of improvement did not differ between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Consistent use of an EHR over 3 years does not ensure successful use for improving the quality of diabetes care. Ongoing efforts to encourage adoption and meaningful use of EHRs in primary care should focus on ensuring that use succeeds in improving care. These efforts will need to include provision of assistance to longer-term EHR users.     

Patients’ Experiences in Different Models of Community Health Centers in Southern China

PURPOSE

Current health care reforms in China have an overall goal of strengthening primary care through the establishment and expansion of primary care networks based on community health centers (CHCs). Implementation in urban areas has led to the emergence of different models of ownership and management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the primary care experiences of patients in the Pearl River Delta as measured by the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) and the relationships with ownership and management in the 3 different models we describe.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on-site at CHCs in 3 cities within the Pearl River Delta, China, using a multistage cluster sampling method. A validated Mandarin Chinese version of the PCAT–Adult Edition (short version) was adopted to collect information from adult patients regarding their experiences with primary care sources. PCAT scores for individual primary care attributes and total primary care assessment scores were assessed with respect to sociodemographic characteristics, health characteristics, and health care service utilization across 3 primary care models.

RESULTS

One thousand four hundred forty (1,440) primary care patients responded to the survey, for an overall response rate of 86.1%. Respondents gave government-owned and -managed CHCs the highest overall PCAT scores when compared with CHCs either managed by hospitals (95.18 vs 90.81; P = .005) or owned by private and social entities (95.18 vs 90.69; P =.007) as a result of better first-contact care (better first-contact utilization) and coordination of care (better service coordination and information system). Factors that were positively and significantly associated with higher overall assessment scores included the presence of a chronic condition (P <.001), having medical insurance (P = .006), and a self-reported good health status (P <.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that government-owned and -managed CHCs may be able to provide better first-contact care in terms of utilization and coordination of care, and may be better at solving the problem of underutilization of the CHCs as the first-contact point of care, one key problem facing the reforms in China.     

Health Care Utilization and Receipt of Preventive Care for Patients Seen at Federally Funded Health Centers Compared to Other Sites of Primary Care

Objective

To compare utilization and preventive care receipt among patients of federal Section 330 health centers (HCs) versus patients of other settings.

Data Sources

A nationally representative sample of adults from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2004–2008).

Study Design

HC patients were defined as those with ≥50 percent of outpatient visits at HCs in the first panel year. Outcomes included utilization and preventive care receipt from the second panel year. We used negative binomial and logistic regression models with propensity score adjustment for confounding differences between HC and non-HC patients.

Principal Findings

Compared to non-HC patients, HC patients had fewer office visits (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR], 0.63) and hospitalizations (aIRR, 0.43) (both p < .001). HC patients were more likely to receive breast cancer screening than non-HC patients (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.78, p < .01). In subgroup analyses, uninsured HC patients had fewer outpatient and emergency room visits and were more likely to receive dietary advice and breast cancer screening compared to non-HC patients.

Conclusions

Health centers add value to the health care system by providing socially and medically disadvantaged patients with care that results in lower utilization and maintained or improved preventive care.     

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health and Health Care among U.S. Adolescents

Objective

To examine racial/ethnic disparities in medical and oral health status, access to care, and use of services in U.S. adolescents.

Data Source

Secondary data analysis of the 2003 National Survey of Children''s Health. The survey focus was children 0–17 years old.

Study Design

Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted for white, African American, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and multiracial adolescents 10–17 years old (n = 48,742) to identify disparities in 40 measures of health and health care.

Principal Findings

Certain disparities were especially marked for specific racial/ethnic groups and multiracial youth. These disparities included suboptimal health status and lack of a personal doctor or nurse for Latinos; suboptimal oral health and not receiving all needed medications in the past year for African Americans; no physician visit or mental health care in the past year for Asian/Pacific Islanders; overweight/obesity, uninsurance, problems getting specialty care, and no routine preventive visit in the past year for American Indian/Alaska Natives; and not receiving all needed dental care in multiracial youth.

Conclusions

U.S. adolescents experience many racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. These findings indicate a need for ongoing identification and monitoring of and interventions for disparities for all five major racial/ethnic groups and multiracial adolescents.     

Experienced Continuity of Care When Patients See Multiple Clinicians: A Qualitative Metasummary

PURPOSE

Continuity of care among different clinicians refers to consistent and coherent care management and good measures are needed. We conducted a metasummary of qualitative studies of patients’ experience with care to identify measurable elements that recur over a variety of contexts and health conditions as the basis for a generic measure of management continuity.

METHODS

From an initial list of 514 potential studies (1997–2007), 33 met our criteria of using qualitative methods and exploring patients’ experiences of health care from various clinicians over time. They were coded independently. Consensus meetings minimized conceptual overlap between codes.

RESULTS

For patients, continuity of care is experienced as security and confidence rather than seamlessness. Coordination and information transfer between professionals are assumed until proven otherwise. Care plans help clinician coordination but are rarely discerned as such by patients. Knowing what to expect and having contingency plans provides security. Information transfer includes information given to the patient, especially to support an active role in giving and receiving information, monitoring, and self-management. Having a single trusted clinician who helps navigate the system and sees the patient as a partner undergirds the experience of continuity between clinicians.

CONCLUSION

Some dimensions of continuity, such as coordination and communication among clinicians, are perceived and best assessed indirectly by patients through failures and gaps (discontinuity). Patients experience continuity directly through receiving information, having confidence and security on the care pathway, and having a relationship with a trusted clinician who anchors continuity.