title: Characteristics of ambulatory care patients and services: a comparison of community health centers and physicians' offices.
abstract: The overall aim was to determine whether health care delivery for vulnerable populations served by community health centers (CHCs) was comparable to care for mainstream Americans primarily seen in physicians' offices (POs). Data came from the 2006 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Patient visits occurring in CHCs were largely from younger, uninsured or Medicaid-insured, minority populations, while POs catered mainly to older, Medicare- or privately-insured, White patients. Communities served by CHCs were more often in low-income, low-education, urban regions. A greater proportion of visits to CHCs were from diabetic, obese, and depressed patients; CHCs also offered more evening/weekend visits and provided more health education during visits, but spent less time per visit than POs and had more difficulty referring patients to specialists. Results affirmed the significant role of CHCs as safety-net providers for vulnerable populations, and indicated that CHCs provide adequate care compared with POs although there remains room for improvement.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dept. of Health Policy and Management, 624 North Broadway, Room 452, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. lshi@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Leiyu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Lydie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Lebrun
authors.forename: Jenna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Jinsheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010824:Physicians' Offices / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D055815:Young Adult