Published In

Journal of Patient Experience

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Subjects

Health care management, Veterans Health--United States

Abstract

Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VA) has implemented the largest shift to a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care in the United States to date. Objective: We interviewed veterans about their experiences of primary care to understand whether they observed changes in care during this period as well as to learn which characteristics of care mattered most to their experiences. Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 32 veterans receiving primary care at 1 of 8 VA clinics in the northwest United States. Interviews were analyzed using an inductive–deductive hybrid approach by an interdisciplinary team that included a veteran patient. Result: Participants noticed recent positive changes, including improved communications and shorter waits in clinic, but rarely were aware of VA’s PCMH initiative; a strong relationship with the primary care provider and feeling cared for/respected by everyone involved in care delivery were key components of quality care. The needs of the veteran community as a whole also shaped discussion of care expectations. Conclusion: The PCMH model may provide benefits even when invisible to patients. Veteran awareness of population needs suggests a promising role for veteran involvement in further PCMH transformation efforts.

Description

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

DOI

10.1177/2374373517731602

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/26684

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Social Work Commons

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