The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #66357

Elliott Garrett, MSW¹, Celia Larson, PhD², Erika Shambaugh, MA³, Karen Grimm, MA⁴, and Bart Perkey, MSW¹. (1) Bureau of Health Equality, Metropolitan Nashville Health Department, 311 23rd Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203, 615-340-5655, Elliott_Garrett@mhd.nashville.org, (2) Metro Public Health Department, 311 23rd Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203, (3) Division of Research and Evaluation, Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County Health Department, 311 23rd Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203, (4) Bureau of Community Assessment and Health Promotion, Metropolitan Nashville Health Department, 311 23rd Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203

Meeting the health care needs of uninsured persons in the United States is a major challenge. In Nashville, TN, the Bridges to Care program is underway to address barriers in health care access by developing a system that provides a medical home for uninsured persons. The primary mission for Bridges to Care is to improve the health status of Nashville/Davidson County’s uninsured residents. To determine effectiveness of the program, a Patient Satisfaction Survey that measured perceptions of service delivery, access and quality of care, self perceived health status, and cultural sensitivity was developed and implemented. The Patient Satisfaction Survey was administered to a random sample of Bridges to Care participants after six months of enrollment and again at one year. Satisfaction was generally high (> 85%)for most aspects of Bridges to Care including pay for prescriptions, visits to the medical home, and overall health care. However, language barriers were reported for 39% of the enrollees whose primary language was not English. Sixteen percent of participants expressed having some unmet healthcare needs such as lack of dental care and a pharmacy formulary that did not encompass their particular prescriptions such as diabetic supplies and certain mental health medications (9%).

This paper describes the evaluation process for Patient Satisfaction among uninsured persons enrolled in the Bridges to Care program, the lessons learned, and implications for bettering quality of care.

Learning Objectives:

• 1) Describe 3 barriers to Patient Satisfaction for uninsured persons.
• 2) Describe the importance of cultural competency in determining Patient Satisfaction.
• 3) Explain the need for accurate information delivery when it comes to Patient Satisfaction.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.