High patient satisfaction with patient-centered medical homes

(HealthDay)—A significant majority of patients report experiencing a high quality of care at federally-supported health centers, according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Lydie A. Lebrun-Harris, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Baltimore, and colleagues utilized data collected from 4,562 people participating in the 2009 Health Center Patient Survey, a nationally representative sample of patients seen in health centers. Patient perceptions of quality and patient-centered medical home (PCMH) attributes were assessed.

The researchers found that 84 percent of patients reported excellent/very good overall quality of services; 81 percent reported excellent/very good quality of clinician care; and 84 percent were very likely to refer friends and relatives. There was a positive association between patient ratings on the access to care and patient-centered communication attributes and patient-reported high quality of care on the three outcome measures.

"PCMH attributes related to access to care and communication were associated with greater likelihood of patients reporting high-quality care," Lebrun-Harris and colleagues conclude.