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Patient visits to a midwestern primary care practice-based research network: a comparison to two national primary
John M Pascoe1, David R Little, Shalini G Forbis
1Department of Pediatrics, Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH 45404, USA. john.pascoe@wright.edu
Insights
Regional primary care networks can significantly contribute to research by serving unique patient populations. This study found Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network (SOAR-Net) patients were more likely to be African-American and use Medicaid.
Area of Science:
- Primary care research
- Health services research
- Pediatric health
Background:
- Regional primary care practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are vital but under-described.
- This study characterizes pediatric patients in a new regional PBRN.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare pediatric patient demographics and characteristics within the Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network (SOAR-Net) to national datasets.
- To highlight the unique patient populations served by regional PBRNs.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive patient data collected from 25 SOAR-Net clinicians (July 2003-June 2004).
- Comparison with pediatric patient data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS).
Main Results:
- SOAR-Net patients were nearly twice as likely to use Medicaid (41.9% vs. 22.0%/22.4%).
- SOAR-Net patients were more likely to be African-American (23.7% vs. 7.5%/17.6%).
- Approximately one-third of patients in all groups were seen for well visits.
Conclusions:
- Regional PBRNs with diverse patient populations (e.g., Medicaid, minority groups) can make significant research contributions.
- Focusing research on underserved segments of the population, like indigent children, is crucial for primary care advancement.
Background:
Regional primary care practice-based research networks (PBRNs) have made important contributions to the primary care literature, but have not been well-described. This study compares pediatric patient characteristics within a new regional PBRN to pediatric patient characteristics from two previously published national data sets.
Methods:
Descriptive patient data were collected by 25 Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network (SOAR-Net) clinicians between July 2003 and June 2004. These data were compared to pediatric patient characteristics from 57 Pediatric Research in Office Setting clinicians and 33 primary care pediatric clinicians who participated in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.
Results:
SOAR-Net patients were almost twice as likely to use Medicaid (41.9% vs 22.0%/22.4%, p = 0.0001). SOAR-Net patients also were more likely to be African-American (23.7% vs 7.5%/17.6%, p = 0.002). About one third of patients in each sample were seen for a well visit.
Conclusion:
Regional networks with unique characteristics, such as a large number of Medicaid patients and/or many underserved minority patients have the potential to make significant contributions to primary care research by focusing on problems experienced within those segments of a population (e.g., indigent children and their families).
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