Medical home and emergency department utilization among children with special health care needs: an analysis of the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs.
The purpose of this article was to determine whether medical home associated with reduction in emergency department utilization by children with special health care needs. The study comprised 40 723 children participating in the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. For whole sample, presence of medical home was not associated with a decrease in emergency department (ED) utilization. However, children aged 0 to 5 years and those with severe functional limitations derived the most benefit from a medical home. Presence of medical home for severely limited children was associated with fewer ED visits (odds ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.50-0.70). Additional studies are warranted to explore specific components of a medical home and ED use.
Valley Community Clinic, North Hollywood, CA, USA. kawillit@gmail.com
Kathryn Ann
KA
Willits
Mary A
MA
Nies
Elizabeth F
EF
Racine
Meredith L
ML
Troutman-Jordan
Elena
E
Platonova
Henry L
HL
Harris
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States