Access to Health Care Measures
Structural Barriers
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Barriers to Getting Care
Percent of persons who usually use public transportation to get to provider.
Percent of persons with provider who has office hours nights or weekends.
Percent of persons with difficulty getting appointments on short notice.
Percent of persons with difficulty contacting provider over the telephone.
Percent of adults without problems getting referral to a specialist in past year.
Percent of persons not very satisfied with professional staff at provider's office.
Wait Time
Percent of persons who usually wait >30 minutes before seeing provider.
Emergent/urgent emergency department visits with wait ≥ 1 hour.
Semi-urgent/non-urgent emergency department visits with wait ≥ 1 hour.
Emergency departments visits in which the patient left without being seen.
Barriers to Getting Care
Measure Title
Percent of persons who usually use public transportation to get to provider.
Measure Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Data Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey .
Denominator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized).
Numerator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported that they usually use public transportation to get to provider.
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Barriers to Getting Care
Measure Title
Percent of persons with provider who has office hours nights or weekends.
Measure Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey .
Tables
Percent of persons with provider who has office hours nights or weekends, United States, 1999, by
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Family income
- Education
Data Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Denominator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care.
Numerator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care who subsequently reported that they have a provider who has office hours nights or weekends.
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Barriers to Getting Care
Measure Title
Percent of persons with difficulty getting appointments on short notice.
Measure Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Tables
Percent of persons with difficulty getting appointments on short notice, United States, 1999, by
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Family income
- Education
Data Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Denominator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care and who usually or sometimes have an appointment when they go to their provider.
Numerator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care and who usually or sometimes have an appointment when they go to their provider and who subsequently reported that they have difficulty getting appointments on short notice.
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Barriers to Getting Care
Measure Title
Percent of persons with difficulty contacting provider over the telephone.
Measure Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Tables
Percent of persons with difficulty contacting provider over the telephone, United States, 1999, by
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Family income
- Education
Data Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Denominator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care.
Numerator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care who subsequently reported that they have difficulty contacting provider over the telephone.
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Barriers to Getting Care
Measure Title
Percent of adults without problems getting referral to a specialist in past year.
Measure Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Tables
Percent of adults without problems getting referral to a specialist in past year, United States, 2000, by
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Family income
- Education
Data Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Denominator
Adult U.S. population (18 years of age and older, civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported that, during the previous 12 months, they or a doctor thought they needed to see a specialist.
Numerator
Adult U.S. population (18 years of age and older, civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported that, during the previous 12 months, they or a doctor thought they needed to see a specialist who subsequently reported no problems getting referral to a specialist in past year.
Comments
Tables report data from the MEPS 2000 Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ). Go to the MEPS entry in the Data Source section of this appendix for more information on the SAQ.
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Barriers to Getting Care
Measure Title
Percent of persons not very satisfied with professional staff at provider's office.
Measure Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Tables
Percent of persons not very satisfied with professional staff at provider's office, United States, 1999, by
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Family income
- Education
Data Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey .
Denominator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care.
Numerator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care who subsequently reported that they were not very satisfied with professional staff at provider's office.
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Wait Time
Measure Title
Percent of persons who usually wait >30 minutes before seeing provider.
Measure Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey .
Tables
Percent of persons who usually wait >30 minutes before seeing provider, United States, 1999, by
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Family income
- Education
Data Source
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey .
Denominator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care and who usually or sometimes have an appointment when they go to their provider.
Numerator
U.S. population (civilian, noninstitutionalized) who reported to have a usual source of care and who usually or sometimes have an appointment when they go to their provider who subsequently reported that they usually wait >30 minutes before seeing provider.
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Wait Time
Measure Title
Emergent/urgent emergency department visits with wait >= 1 hour.
Measure Source
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Tables
Emergent/urgent emergency department visits with wait = 1 hour, United States, 1999-2000 by
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey – Emergency Department.
Denominator
Emergent/urgent visits to Emergency Departments (ED) of noninstitutional general and short-stay hospitals, exclusive of Federal, military, and Veterans Administration hospitals, located in the 50 States and the District of Columbia.
Numerator
Emergent/urgent ED visits with wait time of one hour or more.
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Wait Time
Measure Title
Semi-urgent/non-urgent emergency department visits with wait >= 1 hour.
Measure Source
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Tables
Semi-urgent/non-urgent emergency department visits with wait = 1 hour, United States, 1999-2000 by
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey – Emergency Department.
Denominator
Semi-urgent/non-urgent visits to Emergency Departments (ED) of noninstitutional general and short-stay hospitals, exclusive of Federal, military, and Veterans Administration hospitals, located in the 50 States and the District of Columbia.
Numerator
Semi-urgent/non-urgent ED visits with wait time of one hour or more.
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Wait Time
Measure Title
Emergency departments visits in which the patient left without being seen.
Measure Source
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Tables
Emergency departments visits in which the patient left without being seen, United States, 1999-2000, by
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey – Emergency Department.
Denominator
Patients who visited hospital emergency departments (ED) located in the 50 States and the District of Columbia.
Numerator
Patients with a Visit Disposition of "Left before being seen" on the NHAMCS Emergency Department Patient Record Form.
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2003 National Healthcare Disparities Report
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