Medical homes for children with special health care needs: a program evaluation.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot project providing a medical home to children with special health care needs (CSHCN). This study differs from previous work in that it monitors a cohort of CSHCN one year prior to and two years after participation in a medical home intervention utilizing a quasi-experimental design.


RESULTS
The groups being compared demonstrated descriptive differences in emergency room (ER) and preventive visits. Statistically significant differences in ER visits were achieved by the second intervention year.


CONCLUSIONS
The current research demonstrates that a medical home can have demonstrable effect on utilization of preventive and emergency care by CSHCN. Limitations of the current research include small sample size and lack of information on acuity and quality of life.
Martin
Amy Brock
AB
South Carolina Rural Health Research Center (SCRHRC), Department of Health Services, Policy, and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina (SC), USA. brocka@gwm.sc.edu
Crawford
Sarah
S
Probst
Janice C
JC
Smith
Gratin
G
Saunders
Ruth P
RP
Watkins
Ken W
KW
Luchok
Kathryn
K
D000293:Adolescent; D019090:Case Management; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011203:Poverty; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013997:Time Factors