Adults receiving primary care at federally qualified health centers were more likely to positively rate their patient experience if their health center scored highly on adoption of chronic care management.

Patient Experiences with Care Differ with Chronic Care Management in a Federally Qualified Community Health Center

Claude Messan Setodji, Denise D. Quigley, Marc N. Elliott, Q. Burkhart, Michael Hochman, Alex Y. Chen, Ron D. Hays

ResearchPosted on rand.org May 23, 2017Published in:Population Health Management [Epub April 2017]. doi:10.1089/pop.2017.0003

This study compares patient experience among practices that vary in adoption of the chronic care management (CCM) dimension of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model that focuses on care coordination and management of chronic diseases. Study participants were 2903 adult patients (ages 18 years or older) at 14 primary care centers in California. Seven of the sites were classified as high (more CCM) and the other 7 low on a CCM index. Hypotheses were tested using ordinary least squares regression models. After adjusting for the number of providers at the sites, high CCM scores were associated with significantly better overall ratings of providers, provider communication, follow-up on test results, and willingness to recommend the provider (differences of 5.82, 6.85, 9.81, and 4.56, respectively on the 0–100 scale scores). The results of this study provide support for the value of the PCMH for patient experiences with care.

Key Findings

  • In comparison to practices with low CCM scores, after adjusting for practice size, practices with high CCM scores were associated with significantly better care experience ratings from patients on four measures:
    • overall provider rating,
    • provider communication,
    • follow-up on test results, and
    • willingness to recommend the provider.
  • On the access to care and experience with office staff measures, significantly worse patient ratings for high CCM practices were observed but then explained away by the number of providers in the practice.
  • Study results support the use of the PCMH model to improve patients’ care experience.
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Document Details

  • Copyright: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc
  • Availability: Non-RAND
  • Year: 2017
  • Pages: 7
  • Document Number: EP-67147

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