Resumen
Background: Access to primary care could reduce use of more costly health care by uninsured individuals through prevention and early treatment. We analyzed data from a program providing free primary care to test this hypothesis. Methods: We compared emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations among uninsured, low-income adults who received immediate versus delayed access to a program providing free primary care, including labs, X-rays, and specialty consultation. We used surveys to identify ER visits and hospitalizations during the 12 months preceding and following program enrollment or wait list entry. Results: Hospitalizations decreased from the year before entry to the year following entry in participants with immediate and delayed (6.0% vs 8.8% decrease) access. ER use also decreased in both groups (11.2% vs 15.4%). Conclusions: Free primary care services and specialty consultation did not reduce use of more costly health care services during its first year. More prolonged availability of primary care might have greater impact.
| Idioma original | English |
|---|---|
| Páginas (desde-hasta) | 135-142 |
| Número de páginas | 8 |
| Publicación | Journal of Primary Care and Community Health |
| Volumen | 4 |
| N.º | 2 |
| DOI | |
| Estado | Published - abr 2013 |
Financiación
This project was funded by the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program, a component of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin; statistical analysis was supported by Grant No. 1UL1RR031973 from the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSI) program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. We received expert administrative support in preparing this report from Kristyn Ertl, BA. Jeff Whittle , MD, MPH is a Staff Physician at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center and a Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, both in Milwaukee. His research has focused on racial disparities, access to care and chronic disease self management. His work has been funded by the VA, the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Health Services Resource Administration and the American Heart Association.
| Financiadores | Número del financiador |
|---|---|
| Health Services Resource Administration | |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Center for Research Resources | UL1RR031973 |
| Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality | |
| U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | |
| American the American Heart Association |
ODS de las Naciones Unidas
Este resultado contribuye a los siguientes Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible
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Good health and well being
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Community and Home Care
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Huella
Profundice en los temas de investigación de 'Does providing care for uninsured patients decrease emergency room visits and hospitalizations?'. En conjunto forman una huella única.Citar esto
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