Journal article
Do public health clinics reduce rehospitalizations? The urban diabetes study
Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, v 19(2), pp 562-573
01 May 2008
PMID: 18469426
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Safety-net health clinics have been shown to reduce hospitalizations for ambulatory-care-sensitive conditions. Their impact on rehospitalization after hospital discharge is unknown. We hypothesized that use of publicly-funded safety-net health clinics would reduce rates of rehospitalization among patients with diabetes. We expected this effect to be most evident among the most vulnerable patients. Linking data from the Philadelphia Health Care Centers (HCCs) with statewide hospital discharge data for 1994-2001 for patients with diabetes, we found that patients enrolled in the HCCs prior to hospitalization were rehospitalized 22% of the time, the same rate as other Philadelphians. Among those at higher risk of rehospitalization because pre-existing diabetes was not noted in hospital records, odds of rehospitalization were reduced by 24% for HCC patients. Given that patients in the HCCs are overwhelmingly poor and uninsured or underinsured, these findings suggest that access to primary care through the HCCs may have a protective effect against the poor health outcomes typically associated with lower socioeconomic status. Enrollment in publicly-funded safety-net health clinics may have prevented rehospitalizations for some vulnerable patients with diabetes.
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Details
- Title
- Do public health clinics reduce rehospitalizations? The urban diabetes study
- Creators
- Jessica M. Robbins - Philadelphia Department of Public HealthVivian G. Valdmanis - University of the SciencesDavid A. Webb - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, v 19(2), pp 562-573
- Publisher
- Johns Hopkins Univ Press
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- R21DK06420 / NIDDK NIH HHS; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Dana and David Dornsife School of Public Health
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000255653300022
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-43949118790
- Other Identifier
- 991019168912704721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Health Policy & Services
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health