Preventive Service Gains from First Contact Access in the Primary Care Home

Sample consists of patients who have reported a continuity relationship with a Family Medicine or Internal Medicine Physician of at least 2 years.

All values are presented as n (%) unless otherwise indicated.

* First-contact accessibility status is defined as very good or excellent ratings for all of the following: convenience of doctor's location, hours of doctor's availability, phone appointment arrangements, office wait time, time between when appointment is made and visit, availability by phone of medical advice and information, ease of seeing doctor of choice, and amount of visit time spent with doctors and staff. The sample consists of patients who have reported a continuity relationship of at least 2 years with a family medicine or internal medicine physician. Because of rounding, percents may not add up to 100.

† The following 22 chronic conditions were measured in this count: asthma, bronchitis/emphysema, serious back trouble, circulation problems, kidney/bladder problems, ulcers, allergies, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease/myocardial infarction, stroke, arthritis, pain and stiffness in the joints, mental illness, chronic sinusitis, fibromyalgia, high cholesterol, irritable bowel syndrome, osteoporosis, and prostate problems.

‡ Self-rated health was measured by respondents on a scale of 1 to 5 (poor, fair, good, very good, excellent).