Access to the medical home: new findings from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs.
OBJECTIVE
This article reports new findings from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN) regarding parental perceptions of the extent to which children with special health care needs (CSHCN) have access to a medical home.


METHODS
Five criteria were analyzed to describe the extent to which CSHCN receive care characteristic of the medical home concept. Data on 40840 children included in the NS-CSHCN were used to assess the presence of a medical home, as indicated by achieving each of the 5 criteria.


RESULTS
Results of the survey indicate that (1) approximately one half of CSHCN receive care that meets all 5 criteria established for a medical home; (2) access to a medical home is affected significantly by race/ethnicity, income, health insurance status, and severity of the child's condition; (3) parents of children who do have a medical home report significantly less delayed or forgone care and significantly fewer unmet needs for health care and family support services; and (4) limited improvements have occurred since success rates were first measured by using the 2001 NS-CSHCN.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that, although some components of the medical home concept have been achieved for most CSHCN, care synonymous with the principles underlying the medical home is not yet in place for a significant number of CSHCN and their families.
Strickland
Bonnie B
BB
Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Parklawn Building 188-A-27, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, USA. bstrickland@hrsa.gov
Singh
Gopal K
GK
Kogan
Michael D
MD
Mann
Marie Y
MY
van Dyck
Peter C
PC
Newacheck
Paul W
PW
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States