Access to primary care for patients with diabetes at an urban public hospital walk-in clinic

The purpose of this study was to determine the regular source of primary care, the content of care, and barriers to accessing primary care for 218 medically indigent adults with diabetes mellitus. Patients were surveyed at a public hospital walk-in clinic and were queried regarding demographics, regular source of care, and the content of care they received during the preceding year. Seventy percent of the patients were medically uninsured, and 60 percent had household incomes under $10,001. Forty-three percent reported no regular source of care, and 18 percent named an episodic care site as their regular source. Patients with a regular source of primary care had twice as many annual ambulatory visits as those without primary care. Patients with a regular source of primary care reported more diabetic-related services than those without. This patient population is largely poor and uninsured and has difficulty accessing primary care.