July 28, 2009

The Relationship between Practice Size and Quality of Care in Medicaid

Large practices with one to nine providers account for 40 percent of Medicaid's revenue. However, seventeen percent of Medicaid's physicians work in practice with ten to fifty other physicians. More attention has been given to larger practices in order to cut down the number of physicians while keeping quality consistent. On the other hand, it is important to make sure practices are not understaffed, such as the Chronic Care and Patient-Centered Medical Home. JeanHee Moon, PhD, MPH, Rivka Weiser, MPH, Nikki Highsmith, MPA, Stephen A. Somers, PhD, report that an understaffed practice will prevent the practice from improving quality. This article reports the results from examining care quality in different-sized practices in four different states.