Table 10_3_1-3c

2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports

The National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) is a comprehensive national overview of quality of health care in the United States. It is organized around four dimensions of quality of care: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness.

Table 10_3_1.3c
Adults age 65 and over who received at least 1 of 11 prescription medications^a in the calendar year that should be avoided for older patients, by family income,^b United States, 2005
Population group		Total		Negative/poor		Near poor/low		Middle		High
Population group		Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE
Total		2.7	0.3	3.5	1.0	2.9	0.7	2.2	0.5	2.6	0.5
Age	65–69	3.6	0.8	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	70–74	3.2	0.7	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	75–79	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	80 and over	1.8	0.5	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Gender	Male	1.9	0.4	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Gender	Female	3.2	0.5	*	*	*	*	2.9	0.8	3.4	0.9
Race	White, single race	2.6	0.3	*	*	2.8	0.8	2.4	0.6	2.5	0.6
	Black, single race	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Asian, single race	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	NHOPI, single race	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	AI/AN, single race	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Multiple races	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ethnicity	Non-Hispanic, all races	2.8	0.3	3.8	1.1	3.1	0.8	2.3	0.5	2.7	0.6
	Non-Hispanic, White	2.8	0.4	*	*	*	*	2.5	0.6	2.5	0.6
	Non-Hispanic, Black	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Hispanic	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Education^c	Less than high school	1.9	0.5	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	High school graduate	2.9	0.6	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	At least some college	3.1	0.6	*	*	*	*	*	*	2.9	0.8
Health insurance	Medicare only	2.4	0.5	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Medicare and private	2.5	0.4	*	*	*	*	2.1	0.6	2.7	0.6
	Medicare and other public	4.2	1.1	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Residence location^d	Metropolitan	2.6	0.3	*	*	2.8	0.8	2.0	0.5	2.5	0.6
	Large central metro	3.0	0.7	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Large fringe metro	2.1	0.6	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Medium metro	2.4	0.7	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Small metro	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Nonmetropolitan	3.1	0.8	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Micropolitan	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Noncore	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Language spoken most often at home	English	2.8	0.3	*	*	3.0	0.8	2.4	0.5	2.8	0.6
Language spoken most often at home	Other	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	2.6	0.4	*	*	*	*	2.4	0.6	2.8	0.6
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	2.8	0.6	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Activity limitations^d	Basic activities	3.5	0.6	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Complex activities	5.2	1.2	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Neither basic nor complex activities	2.3	0.4	*	*	*	*	*	*	2.7	0.7

^a Prescription medications received includes all prescribed medications initially purchased or otherwise obtained during calendar year, as well as any refills.

^b Negative/poor refers to household incomes below the Federal poverty line; near poor/low, over the poverty line to just below 200 percent of the poverty line; middle, 200 percent to just below 400 percent of the poverty line; and high, 400 percent of the poverty line and over.

^c Less than high school refers to fewer than 12 years of education; high school graduate, 12 years of education; and at least some college, more than 12 years of education.

^d For more information, see the MEPS entry in Appendix A.

* - Data do not meet the criteria for statistical reliability, data quality, or confidentiality.

Key: AI/AN: American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI: Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; SE: standard error.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Current as of September 2009

Internet Citation: Table 10_3_1-3c: 2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. September 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr08/10_patientsafety/T10_3_1-3c.html