Table 13_1_1-1

2009 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 13_1_1.1
Adults who had an appointment for routine health care in the last 12 months who got appointments as soon as wanted, United States, 2006
				Appointment as soon as wanted
				Always		Usually		Sometimes or never
Population group		Total population (in thousands)^d	Percent with appointment	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE
Total		221,664	66.2	48.5	0.6	36.5	0.6	15.1	0.5
Age	18–44	110,210	55.8	44.9	1.0	37.0	1.0	18.1	0.8
	45–64	75,467	73.2	47.2	0.8	37.8	0.8	15.1	0.6
	65 and over	35,988	83.9	58.5	1.2	32.8	1.1	8.7	0.7
Gender	Male	106,997	57.3	49.6	0.9	35.5	0.8	14.8	0.6
Gender	Female	114,668	74.6	47.6	0.7	37.1	0.7	15.3	0.6
Race	White, single race	180,802	68.0	49.0	0.6	37.3	0.6	13.7	0.5
	Black, single race	25,387	58.7	50.1	1.6	30.4	1.4	19.5	1.1
	Asian, single race	10,100	56.2	35.1	3.1	34.9	3.1	29.9	2.8
	NHOPI, single race	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
	AI/AN, single race	1,848	63.4	50.5	6.4	30.4	5.8	DSU	DSU
	Multiple races	2,880	57.9	38.2	4.3	41.0	3.8	20.9	2.7
Ethnicity	Non-Hispanic, all races	192,147	69.3	48.9	0.6	36.3	0.6	14.8	0.5
	Non-Hispanic, White	152,528	72.1	49.7	0.6	37.1	0.7	13.2	0.5
	Non-Hispanic, Black	24,935	58.7	50.1	1.6	30.4	1.4	19.5	1.1
	Hispanic, all races	29,517	46.0	43.9	1.5	38.2	1.7	17.9	1.3
Family income^a	Negative/poor	23,414	56.6	46.5	1.5	32.6	1.3	20.9	1.3
	Near poor/low	37,191	57.8	50.1	1.4	34.4	1.2	15.6	0.9
	Middle	69,053	62.4	47.1	1.1	36.8	1.0	16.2	0.8
	High	92,007	74.8	49.2	1.0	37.6	0.9	13.2	0.6
Education^b	Less than high school	40,399	55.0	50.7	1.2	35.3	1.2	14.0	0.9
	High school graduate	68,260	60.8	51.3	1.0	34.8	0.9	14.0	0.6
	At least some college	111,760	73.4	46.6	0.8	37.6	0.9	15.9	0.6
Employment status, ages 18–64	Employed	149,151	62.0	45.7	0.7	37.8	0.8	16.4	0.6
Employment status, ages 18–64	Not employed	36,439	66.6	46.7	1.2	35.6	1.1	17.6	0.9
Health insurance, ages 18–64	Any private	136,827	69.0	46.7	0.7	38.1	0.7	15.2	0.6
	Public only	16,734	67.1	42.8	1.6	33.6	1.4	23.6	1.5
	Uninsured	32,116	33.8	42.7	2.1	34.5	2.0	22.8	1.7
Health insurance, age 65 and over	Medicare only	10,927	80.8	60.5	2.2	29.9	2.1	9.6	1.4
	Medicare and private	20,862	86.4	57.9	1.6	34.4	1.5	7.7	0.8
	Medicare and other public	3,904	82.0	58.2	3.5	30.4	3.0	11.4	1.8
Residence location^c	Metropolitan	184,536	66.3	48.0	0.6	36.5	0.6	15.5	0.5
	Large central metro	66,201	62.6	46.7	1.0	36.3	1.0	17.0	0.7
	Large fringe metro	52,607	69.4	47.9	1.1	37.3	1.2	14.8	0.9
	Medium metro	46,189	68.6	49.8	1.1	35.3	1.1	14.9	1.1
	Small metro	19,540	64.5	47.8	2.3	37.8	2.2	14.4	1.2
	Nonmetropolitan	37,128	66.1	50.9	1.4	36.3	1.2	12.8	0.9
	Micropolitan	24,719	65.3	50.3	1.8	35.6	1.4	14.0	1.2
	Noncore	12,410	67.7	52.0	2.1	37.7	1.9	10.4	0.9
Language spoken most often at home	English	197,472	69.0	49.2	0.6	36.3	0.6	14.5	0.4
Language spoken most often at home	Other	24,175	43.6	38.7	2.0	39.1	2.0	22.2	1.8
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	192,990	64.2	49.2	0.6	36.3	0.6	14.6	0.5
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	28,674	80.0	44.6	1.3	37.5	1.2	17.9	0.9
Activity limitations^c	Basic activities	29,665	83.4	48.3	1.3	36.6	1.3	15.1	1.0
	Complex activities	17,418	82.9	45.3	1.5	36.6	1.5	18.1	1.2
	Neither basic nor complex activities	186,638	63.4	48.6	0.6	36.4	0.6	15.0	0.5

^a Negative/poor refers to household incomes below the Federal poverty line; near poor/low, 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.

^b 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.

^c For more information, see the MEPS entry in Appendix A, Data Sources.

^d Total adult population, age 18 and over. Numbers may not add to total due to missing values or rounding.

DSU - 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 March 2010

Internet Citation: Table 13_1_1-1: 2009 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. March 2010. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr09/13_timeliness/T13_1_1-1.html