Relationship between primary care access through free clinics and emergency room usage

Trask, Jeffrey T.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/24238 Copy

Description

Title

Relationship between primary care access through free clinics and emergency room usage

Author(s)

Trask, Jeffrey T.

Issue Date

2011-05-25T14:54:51Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Alston, Reginald J.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Alston, Reginald J.

Committee Member(s)

• Farner, Susan M.
• Harvey, Idethia S.
• Ogbudimpka, Jerry E.

Department of Study

Kinesiology & Community Health

Discipline

Community Health

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Uninsured
• Emergency Room
• Emergency Department
• Free Clinics
• Health Policy

Abstract

The health care system in the United States has a safety net to provide care for the millions of Americans without health insurance and lack access to care. The safety net system includes hospital emergency departments, federally qualified health centers, and community clinics. With the costs of health care rising, ways to utilize and maximize the effectiveness of safety net providers is critical. One way to conserve costs involves preventing those without insurance from using the emergency room as a primary care provider. This study surveyed two uninsured groups, one using a local free clinic for primary care (n = 54) and one from the community that did not use the free clinic (n = 70). The uninsured group that used the free clinic had a statistically significant lower average of emergency room visits than the uninsured group that did not use the free clinic. The results suggest that providing primary care for the uninsured decreases emergency room usage.

Graduation Semester

2011-05

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24238

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Jeffrey T. Trask

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