Closing the Divide: How Medical Homes Promote Equity in Health Care

The Commonwealth Fund 2006 Health Care Quality Survey finds that when adults have health insurance coverage and a medical home—defined as a health care setting that provides patients with timely, well-organized care, and enhanced access to providers—racial and ethnic disparities in access and quality are reduced or even eliminated. When adults have a medical home, their access to needed care, receipt of routine preventive screenings, and management of chronic conditions improve substantially. The survey found that rates of cholesterol, breast cancer, and prostate screening are higher among adults who receive patient reminders, and that when minority patients have medical homes, they are just as likely as whites to receive these reminders.