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National Report: "Do Primary Care Physicians Treating Minority Patients Report Problems Delivering High-Quality Care?"

Racial and ethnic disparities can contribute not only to health problems within a primary care physician's patient population, but also to lower reimbursements for the provider. A recent study - "Do Primary Care Physicians Treating Minority Patients Report Problems Delivering High-Quality Care?" (Health Affairs, Vol. 26/No. 3, April 2008) - indicates that physicians in high-minority practices with substantial reliance on low-paying Medicaid also receive lower private insurance reimbursements, and thus have lower incomes. Such constrained resources make it harder to provide optimal care by inhibiting full care coordination, minimizing time spent with individual patients, etc.

The study examines whether increasing Medicaid reimbursements might in turn improve the quality of care physicians can give, thereby helping these providers both reduce racial disparities and more readily become a true "medical home" for their patients.

Click here to access the complete study through the website of The Center for Studying Health System Change.