Assessing the Association between Having a Usual Source of Care and Emergency Department Visits

Background: Medical cost control has become an essential feature of national and state human service resourcing. It is important to identify unnecessarily costly medical practices and replace them with more effective and less expensive modes of care for under-served populations. For individuals, the usual source of care is a designation which assists in ascertaining whether there is a particular doctor's office, clinic, health center or other place that the individual goes to for their medical care and health advising. Frequently,individuals without a usual source of care use emergency rooms for their care.

Objective: To determine if having a usual source of care will decrease the use of the emergency care on a national level.

Methods: Using national data from the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) we are examining the correlation between having a usual source of care and the use of emergency care. The examination controls for age, race, gender, income, insurance status, education, family size, metropolitan statistical area, and perceived health and mental health status. A Logistic regression model adjusting for the complex survey design will be used to examine this association.

Principal Findings and Conclusions: Having a usual source of care is significantly associated with a decreased use of emergency care. Future research may benefit by examining the longitudinal relationship between having a usual source of care and the use of emergency care among diverse vulnerable populations.