Access to Federally Qualified Health Centers and Emergency Department Use Among Uninsured and Medicaid-insured Adults: California, 2005 to 2013.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While improved access to safety net primary care providers, like federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), is often cited as a route to alleviate potentially preventable emergency department (ED) visits, no studies have longitudinally established the impact of improving access to FQHCs on ED use among Medicaid-insured and uninsured adults. We aimed to determine whether improved access to FQHCs was associated with lower ED use by uninsured and Medicaid-insured adults.

Methods

Using data from the Uniform Data System, U.S. Census Bureau, and California Office of Statewide Health Planning & Development, we conducted a longitudinal analysis of 58 California counties from 2005 to 2013. For each county-year observation, we employed three measures of FQHC access: geogra

SUBMITTER: Nath JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6370496 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature