Keywords
Ambulatory medical care in Florida; Health maintenance organizations; Florida
Abstract
The utilization of ambulatory services by the health maintenance organization of Florida (HMO), independent practice association (IPA) model, was compared to a fee-for-service population. Each randomly selected group consisted of 250 patients being cared for by the same providers, at the same clinic, during the calendar year 1986. Demographic and clinical data was gathered from the office charts. Frequencies were evaluated by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and t-tests were run to substantiate variance at the 0.05 level of confidence. The HMO group is a younger population (t = 0.017), and the males are responsible for the increased utilization of ambulatory services (t = 0.001). Trends of increased utilization are noted across the age groups and the variables. The rate of hospitalization is insignificantly higher for the HMO population and covers a broader range of age groups. Consequently, this HMO IPA model increases the rate of ambulatory service utilization in a younger population without reducing the rate of hospitalization. Cost effectiveness studies and organizational management evaluations are needed.
Graduation Date
1988
Semester
Spring
Advisor
Mendenhall, Thomas S.
Degree
Master of Science (M.S.)
College
College of Health
Degree Program
Health Sciences
Format
Language
English
Rights
Written permission granted by copyright holder to the University of Central Florida Libraries to digitize and distribute for nonprofit, educational purposes.
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Masters Thesis (Open Access)
Identifier
DP0008167
STARS Citation
Hansen, Thomas Harold, "Utilization of Ambulatory Services by the Health Maintenance Organization of Florida" (1988). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 4284.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/rtd/4284
Contributor (Linked data)
Thomas S. Mendenhall (Q59466477)
University of Central Florida. College of Health and Public Affairs (Q7895237)
Accessibility Status
Searchable text