TOPLINE:

More than 90% of adults with multiple chronic conditions reported having a usual source of care (USC), although access varied by age and race. Many experienced difficulty getting care after office hours and limited communication from providers about treatments.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study using US survey data from 2019 to 2021 to examine whether adults with multiple chronic conditions had access to a USC and how they perceived the quality of care.
• They included 9471 adults reporting two or more chronic conditions who did or did not have a USC.
• Patients reported whether they usually went to a specific doctor’s office, clinic, health center, or other place when they were sick or needed advice on their health.
• USC providers were categorized based on the service they provided and the medical specialties they served. Accessibility was measured by time taken to travel to the provider, office hours at night or on the weekend, and reachability via phone after office hours.
• The perceived quality of care was assessed by asking patients whether their providers asked about prescriptions or treatments from other doctors, involved them in choosing treatments, and explained all treatment options.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 91.6% of patients with multiple chronic conditions reported having a USC. Most care occurred in office settings and was provided by family physicians (63.5%) or internal medicine physicians (20.5%).
• Having a USC was more likely for patients aged 65 years or older; those who were married, insured, non-Hispanic White; and those living in the Midwest or with three or more chronic conditions (P < .05); Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black patients were less likely to have a USC (P < .05).
• Further, 11.8% of patients traveled more than 30 minutes to the provider, nearly 20% found phone access difficult, and about 43% had difficulty getting care after office hours.
• Over 20% of patients reported that their providers did not ask about treatments from other doctors or did not consistently involve them in treatment decision-making.

IN PRACTICE:

“The lower proportion of patients reporting consistent involvement in treatment decision-making is particularly noteworthy. This may imply a gap in patient-centered care, potentially stemming from either patients’ perceptions of their involvement or actual patterns of care,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Jun Wu, PhD, of the Barry and Judy Silverman College of Pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was published online on October 24, 2025, in Journal of General Internal Medicine.

LIMITATIONS:

The results were limited to available survey data. Quality of care was assessed from reports by patients, not from clinical outcomes. Medical conditions were identified only if tied to medical events.

DISCLOSURES:

No funding source was explicitly mentioned. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.