Applying the Chronic Care Model to Homeless Veterans: Effect of a Population Approach to Primary Care on Utilization and Clinical Outcomes.

• Autores: Thomas P. O'Toole, Lauren Buckel, Claire Bourgault, Jonathan Blumen, Stephen G. Redihan, Lan Jiang, Peter D. Friedmann
• Localización: American journal of public health, ISSN 0090-0036, Vol. 100, Nº. 12, 2010, págs. 2493-2499
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Objectives. We compared a population-tailored approach to primary care for homeless veterans with a usual care approach. Methods. We conducted a retrospective prolective cohort study of homeless veterans enrolled in a population-tailored primary care clinic matched to a historical sample in general internal medicine clinics. Overall, 177 patients were enrolled: 79 in the Homeless-Oriented Primary Care Clinic and 98 in general internal medicine primary care. Results. Homeless-oriented primary care-enrolled patients had greater improvements in hypertension, diabetes, and lipid control, and primary care use was higher during the first 6 months (5.96 visits per person vs 1.63 for general internal medicine) but stabilized to comparable rates during the second 6 months (2.01 vs 1.31, respectively). Emergency department (ED) use was also higher (2.59 vs 1.89 visits), although with 40% lower odds for nonacute ED visits than for the general internal medicine group (95% confidence interval=0.2, 0.8). Excluding substance abuse and mental health admissions, hospitalizations were reduced among the homeless veterans between the 2 periods (28.6% vs 10.8%; P<.01) compared with the general internal medicine group (48.2% vs 44.4%; P=.6; difference of differences, P<.01). Conclusions. Tailoring primary care to homeless veterans can decrease unnecessary ED use and medical admissions and improve chronic disease management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]