Table 13_1_3-1

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_3.1
Adults who needed care right away for an illness, injury, or condition in the last 12 months who got care 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	28.0	59.1	0.8	25.6	0.6	15.3	0.6
Age	18–44	110,210	25.5	55.4	1.2	25.6	1.1	19.0	0.9
	45–64	75,467	28.6	57.8	1.3	27.7	1.1	14.5	0.9
	65 and over	35,988	34.4	70.4	1.7	21.9	1.6	7.7	0.8
Gender	Male	106,997	25.2	57.6	1.2	26.8	1.1	15.6	0.9
Gender	Female	114,668	30.6	60.3	1.0	24.7	0.8	15.0	0.7
Race	White, single race	180,802	27.9	60.2	0.8	25.2	0.7	14.7	0.7
	Black, single race	25,387	31.5	58.0	2.0	25.5	1.8	16.5	1.1
	Asian, single race	10,100	19.2	45.6	4.9	33.1	4.4	21.3	3.3
	NHOPI, single race	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
	AI/AN, single race	DSU	30.3	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
	Multiple races	2,880	34.1	48.4	5.6	31.8	4.8	19.8	4.6
Ethnicity	Non-Hispanic, all races	192,147	28.7	60.4	0.8	25.0	0.7	14.6	0.6
	Non-Hispanic, White	152,528	28.8	61.9	0.9	24.3	0.8	13.8	0.7
	Non-Hispanic, Black	24,935	31.3	57.7	2.0	25.7	1.8	16.5	1.1
	Hispanic, all races	29,517	23.2	49.0	2.1	30.4	1.8	20.6	1.6
Family income^a	Negative/poor	23,414	32.6	53.4	2.1	23.6	1.7	23.0	1.7
	Near poor/low	37,191	31.1	53.3	1.7	26.4	1.5	20.3	1.4
	Middle	69,053	27.4	57.7	1.5	27.0	1.3	15.3	1.1
	High	92,007	26.1	64.7	1.2	24.8	1.1	10.5	0.8
Education^b	Less than high school	40,399	30.6	53.1	1.6	28.1	1.5	18.8	1.4
	High school graduate	68,260	28.0	59.5	1.4	25.7	1.3	14.8	1.0
	At least some college	111,760	27.0	61.6	1.2	24.5	1.1	14.0	0.8
Employment status, ages 18–64	Employed	149,151	25.2	56.9	1.1	26.8	0.9	16.3	0.8
Employment status, ages 18–64	Not employed	36,439	33.5	55.2	1.7	25.4	1.5	19.4	1.3
Health insurance, ages 18–64	Any private	136,827	26.3	60.6	1.1	26.4	0.9	13.0	0.8
	Public only	16,734	40.4	49.6	2.1	27.1	2.0	23.3	1.9
	Uninsured	32,116	21.6	41.0	2.3	26.3	2.3	32.8	2.3
Health insurance, age 65 and over	Medicare only	10,927	34.1	70.8	3.1	21.1	3.0	8.1	1.6
	Medicare and private	20,862	33.8	71.9	2.2	21.4	2.1	6.7	1.1
	Medicare and other public	3,904	39.3	65.3	3.9	24.4	3.6	10.3	2.3
Residence location^c	Metropolitan	184,536	27.6	59.1	0.9	25.6	0.7	15.3	0.6
	Large central metro	66,201	26.7	55.6	1.5	27.6	1.4	16.8	1.1
	Large fringe metro	52,607	27.4	63.6	1.8	21.4	1.4	15.0	1.2
	Medium metro	46,189	29.1	57.2	1.5	28.3	1.3	14.5	1.3
	Small metro	19,540	27.9	63.1	2.4	23.7	2.2	13.2	1.9
	Nonmetropolitan	37,128	29.9	59.3	1.7	25.6	1.2	15.1	1.3
	Micropolitan	24,719	30.3	61.1	2.2	24.7	1.6	14.2	1.6
	Noncore	12,410	29.0	55.3	2.8	27.7	2.1	17.0	1.9
Language spoken most often at home	English	197,472	29.0	60.5	0.8	25.0	0.7	14.5	0.6
Language spoken most often at home	Other	24,175	19.9	42.7	2.2	33.6	2.3	23.7	2.1
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	192,990	24.5	61.4	0.9	24.6	0.7	14.0	0.7
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	28,674	52.0	51.7	1.4	28.9	1.4	19.5	1.1
Activity limitations^c	Basic activities	29,665	45.9	58.0	1.4	26.1	1.4	15.9	1.1
	Complex activities	17,418	50.0	53.4	2.0	27.0	1.9	19.6	1.5
	Neither basic nor complex activities	186,638	24.8	59.7	0.9	25.6	0.8	14.7	0.6

^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_3-1: 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_3-1.html