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August 6, 2007Closing the Divide: How Medical Homes Promote Equity in Health Care: Results From The Commonwealth Fund 2006 Health Care Quality Survey |
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From The Commonwealth Fund: The Commonwealth Fund 2006 Health Care Quality Survey finds that when adults have health insurance coverage and a medical home---defined as a health care setting that provides patients with timely, well-organized care, and enhanced access to providers---racial and ethnic disparities in access and quality are reduced or even eliminated. When adults have a medical home, their access to needed care, receipt of routine preventive screenings, and management of chronic conditions improve substantially. The survey found that rates of cholesterol, breast cancer, and prostate screening are higher among adults who receive patient reminders, and that when minority patients have medical homes, they are just as likely as whites to receive these reminders. Survey respondents who have a medical home, report the following four features: they have a regular provider or place of care; they experience no difficulty contacting their provider by phone; they experience no difficulty getting care or advice on weekends or evenings; and they report that their office visits are always well organized and on schedule. Hispanics and African Americans are vulnerable: their uninsured rates are higher and they are less likely than whites to have access to a regular doctor or source of care. Community health centers and public clinics---which care for many uninsured, low-income, and minority adults---are less likely than private doctors' offices to have features of a medical home. The survey finds that community health centers or public clinics serve 20 percent of the uninsured and 20 percent of low-income adults with coverage. Watch a video of a Commonwealth Fund briefing on this report on KaiserNetwork.org or read the transcript.
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