Comparative effectiveness of health centers as regular source of care: Application of sentinel ACSC events as performance measures

Marilyn Falik, Jack Needleman, Robert Herbert, Barbara Wells, Robert Politzer, M. Beth Benedict

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Scopus citations

Abstract

A 4-state (Alabama, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania) retrospective analysis of claims data from 1.6 million Medicaid beneficiaries to assess the performance of community health centers compared with other Medicaid providers (office-based and hospital-based practices) served as a regular source of care to Medicaid beneficiaries, each with at least one diagnosed ambulatory care-sensitive condition (ACSC). The health centers compared with the other Medicaid providers experienced one third fewer sentinel ACS events: 5.7 and 8.2 ACS admissions and 26.1 and 37.7 ACS emergency visits, respectively, per 100 persons. Controlling for case mix and other factors, the logistic regression results for sentinel events indicated that Medicaid beneficiaries who relied on health centers for primary care were significantly less likely to experience an ACS admission (OR = 0.89, P <.0001) or an ACS emergency visit (OR = 0.81, P <.0001) than the Medicaid beneficiaries who relied on other Medicaid providers. Sentinel ACS events can serve as efficient measures for assessing provider performance and comparing effectiveness of regular sources for primary care.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)24-35
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Ambulatory Care Management
Volume29
Issue number1
StatePublished - Jan 2006

Keywords

  • ACSCs
  • Health centers
  • Regular source of care

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Leadership and Management

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