Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec 28;20(2):48-54.
doi: 10.1002/jgf2.229. eCollection 2019 Mar.

Quality of primary care provided in community clinics in Japan

Makiko Ozaki  1 , Shinji Matsumura  2   3 , Momoko Iwamoto  4 , Satoshi Kamitani  5 , Takahiro Higashi  4 , Manabu Toyama  6 , Seiji Bito  2 , Kazuhiro Waza  7
Affiliations

Quality of primary care provided in community clinics in Japan

Makiko Ozaki et al. J Gen Fam Med. .

Abstract

Background: Quality indicators (QIs) for primary care are used worldwide. To date, however, the use of QIs to assess the quality of primary care in Japan has not been reported besides diabetes care. Here, we used QIs to evaluate the quality of primary care services provided by local clinics in Japan.

Methods: Four primary care clinics participated in the retrospective medical chart review in 2015. To assess primary care quality, we used 18 process-oriented QIs from the Quality Indicators for Primary Care practice in Japan (QIPC-J) those we previously developed by using a modified Delphi appropriateness method, which comprises 39 QIs in five categories (Comprehensive care/Standardized care, Access, Communication, Coordination, and Understanding of patient's background). Adult subjects were selected from among patients who visited each clinic within the previous one year using medical claims data. We collected data by reviewing medical charts, and calculated the quality score for each QI and clinic.

Results: A cumulative total of 4330 medical charts were reviewed. The overall quality score was 31.5%. Adherence to QIs ranged from 3.2% to 85.6%. Some quality scores varied substantially between clinics but the overall quality of care among clinics varied less, from 29.2% to 34.0%.

Conclusions: The quality of primary care services provided by local clinics in Japan varies by both QI and clinic. Strategies to improve the quality of care are warranted.

Keywords: local clinics; primary care; quality indicators; quality of health care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have stated explicitly that there are no conflicts of interest in connection with this article.

References

    1. Starfield B, Shi L. Policy relevant determinants of health: an international perspective. Health Policy. 2002;60(3):201–18. - PubMed
    1. Franks P, Fiscella K. Primary care physicians and specialists as personal physicians. Health care expenditures and mortality experience. J Fam Pract. 1998;47(2):105–9. - PubMed
    1. Ellner AL, Phillips RS. The coming primary care revolution. J Gen Intern Med. 2017;32(4):380–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Starfield B, Shi L, Macinko J. Contribution of primary care to health systems and health. Milbank Q. 2005;83(3):457–502. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ikegami N, Yoo BK, Hashimoto H, et al. Japanese universal health coverage: evolution, achievements, and challenges. Lancet. 2011;378(9796):1106–15. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources