Since their creation as part of the War on Poverty in the 1960s, Community Health Centers (CHCs) have filled an important role in providing health care to underserved populations. Recent infusions of federal support have expanded this role. Non-physician clinicians have been used extensively in CHCs for decades, but their use has accelerated along with recent CHC expansion.
This study will analyze survey data from the 2006–2009 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) Community Health Center stratum. Data from the survey induction interview and from the survey itself will be analyzed to describe provider mix in relation to clinic size, type, location and major sources of financial support, to estimate clinical productivity by provider type, and to compare each of the three types of non-physicians with physicians with regard to patient characteristics and patient care attributes, and examine trends in skill mix use in CHCs. Restricted data from induction interviews will be used to describe the variation in provider use across facilities. Restricted data from the NAMCS survey will be used to evaluate types of care provided by provider type.
Perri Morgan