ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Many primary care practices are currently attempting to transform into patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), but little is known about how patients view aspects of the PCMH or how they define patient-centeredness. METHODS: We conducted 3 focus groups with patients from urban academic internal medicine practices. We asked questions about patients' perceptions of what patient-centered care should be; care quality, teams and access; diabetes self-management; and community connections and services. We used a grounded theory approach to the analysis. RESULTS: The global themes that arose in our focus groups included the desire for timely, clear, and courteous communication; a practice that is structured to facilitate an ongoing relationship with a provider who knows the patient; and a relationship that allows the patient both to trust the provider's guidance and to engage more fully in his or her own care. CONCLUSIONS: Our patients want a provider to know them personally and to take time to listen to their issues. They feel that they cannot access their providers in a timely fashion, find our automated phone systems frustrating, and want more time with their provider. Although the technological and structural implementation of the PCMH requires considerable effort and resources, we cannot neglect the relationships we have with our patients. Patients should be involved in this process of change to ensure we address their concerns and preserve the primary care relationships they value.
Subject(s)
Patient Participation , Patient Satisfaction , Patient-Centered Care/organization & administration , Adult , Aged , Female , Focus Groups , Health Services Accessibility/organization & administration , Health Services Needs and Demand/organization & administration , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Organizational Innovation , Patient Care Team/organization & administration , Physician-Patient Relations , Qualitative Research , Quality Improvement/organization & administration , Self CareABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Changes in well child care (WCC) adherence over time have not previously been examined. Our objective is to describe adherence rates to WCC over time in a low-income urban population of infants 0-24 months of age, and to identify predictors of WCC adherence in this population. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a cohort of Medicaid-eligible children followed from birth to 2 years between 2005 and 2008 with structured telephone surveys to assess maternal well-being, social support, and household and demographic information. For the 260 children attending 4 urban pediatric practices, WCC adherence was assessed based on visit data abstracted from electronic medical records. A random-intercept mixed effects logit model clustered on subject was used. RESULTS: 92% of the mothers were African-American, 27% had not finished high school, 87% were single, and 43% earned<$500/month; mean age was 23. WCC adherence decreased from 88% at 6 months to 47% (12 mo), 44% (18 mo), and 67% (24 mo). The difference across time periods was statistically significant (p<0.001). Married (OR 1.71, p=0.02) and primiparous (OR 1.89, p<0.001) mothers had significantly greater odds of adherence, along with women who reported having been adherent to prenatal care visits (OR 1.49, p=0.03) and those with the lowest household income (OR 1.40, p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal education efforts should emphasize the importance of establishing WCC, especially for mothers of more than one child. Further studies using larger, more broadly defined populations are needed to confirm our findings that efforts to increase WCC adherence should be intensified after 6 months of age, particularly for children at higher risk.
