How Important Is the Medical Home?

In a national sample of children, having a medical home was associated with significantly improved medical and dental care.

The medical home is all the rage. To estimate the effect of a medical home on receipt of healthcare services, investigators analyzed data from a 2007 national telephone survey of 83,448 children (age range, 1–17 years). Parents reported on components of the medical home as defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics: having a usual source of care, having a personal physician or nurse, receiving needed referrals for specialty care, receiving needed help coordinating care, and receiving family-centered care.

Slightly more than half the children (57%) were reported to have all applicable components of a medical home. Parents of children without a medical home, compared to those with a medical home, were significantly more likely to report tha…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)