The quality of chronic disease care in U.S. community health centers.
Community health centers (CHCs) are responsible for providing care for more than fifteen million Americans, many of whom are members of groups who have been documented to receive low-quality care. This study examines the quality of care for patients with chronic disease in a nationally representative sample of federally funded CHCs. Fewer than half of eligible patients received appropriate care for the majority of indicators measured, and uninsured patients received poorer care than insured patients. Although the quality of chronic disease care in CHCs compares favorably with that of care received in other settings, gaps in quality were observed for the uninsured.
Hicks
LeRoi S
LS
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. hicks@hcp.med.harvard.edu
O'Malley
A James
AJ
Lieu
Tracy A
TA
Keegan
Thomas
T
Cook
Nakela L
NL
McNeil
Barbara J
BJ
Landon
Bruce E
BE
Guadagnoli
Edward
E
D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D035082:Federal Government; D005380:Financing, Government / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012494:Sampling Studies; D014481:United States