(1) To examine usual source of care () trends across four categories (No , Person , Person, in Facility , and Facility ), and (2) to determine whether types are associated with emergency department () visits and hospital admissions.
1996–2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys.
We stratified each category, by age, region, gender, poverty, insurance, race/ethnicity, and education and used regression to determine the characteristics associated with types, visits, and hospital admissions.
Those with No and Facility s increased 10 and 18 percent, respectively, while those with Person s decreased by 43 percent. Compared to those in the lowest income bracket, those in the highest income bracket were less likely to have a Facility . Among those with low incomes, individuals with No , Person, in Facility, and Facility s were more likely to have visits than those with Person s.
A growing number are reporting facilities as their s or none at all. The impact of these trends is uncertain, although we found that some types are associated with visits and hospital admissions. Tracking s will be crucial to measuring progress toward enhanced care efficiency.
