Access to Health Care in America

Americans are accustomed to anecdotal evidence of the health care crisis. Yet, personal or local stories do not provide a comprehensive nationwide picture of our access to health care. Now, this book offers the long-awaited health equivalent of national economic indicators. This useful volume defines a set of national objectives and identifies indicatorsmeasures of utilization and outcomethat can "sense" when and where problems occur in accessing specific health care services. Using the indicators, the committee presents significant conclusions about the situation today, examining the relationships between access to care and factors such as income, race, ethnic origin, and location. The committee offers recommendations to federal, state, and local agencies for improving data collection and monitoring. This highly readable and well-organized volume will be essential for policymakers, public health officials, insurance companies, hospitals, physicians and nurses, and interested individuals. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1. Introduction 2. A Model for Monitoring Access 3. Using Indicators to Monitor National Objectives for Health Care 4. Future Indicators 5. Recommendations Appendix A: Developing Indicators of Access to Care: The Case for HIV Disease Appendix B: Developing Indicators of Access to Care: Waiting Lists for Drug Abuse Treatment Appendix C: Developing Indicators of Access to Care: The Case for Migrants and the Homeless Appendix D: Ambulatory-Care Sensitive Conditions and Referral-Sensitive Surgeries Index