Table 14_1_5-1

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 14_1_5.1
Adults who had a doctor's office or clinic visit in the last 12 months whose health providers explained things in a way they could understand, United States, 2006
				Health providers explained things clearly
				Always		Usually		Sometimes or never
Population group		Total population (in thousands)^d	Percent with visit	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE
Total		221,664	70.8	60.9	0.5	30.8	0.5	8.2	0.3
Age	18–44	110,210	61.4	60.8	0.9	30.1	0.8	9.1	0.5
	45–64	75,467	76.4	60.0	0.8	32.4	0.8	7.6	0.4
	65 and over	35,988	88.4	63.1	1.1	29.6	1.1	7.4	0.6
Gender	Male	106,997	62.1	61.8	0.8	30.1	0.7	8.1	0.5
Gender	Female	114,668	79.0	60.3	0.7	31.4	0.6	8.3	0.4
Race	White, single race	180,802	72.0	60.8	0.6	31.4	0.6	7.8	0.4
	Black, single race	25,387	67.5	65.8	1.3	24.5	1.0	9.7	0.6
	Asian, single race	10,100	59.2	52.3	3.1	36.2	2.9	11.5	1.7
	NHOPI, single race	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
	AI/AN, single race	1,848	74.3	60.4	6.5	25.6	5.4	14.0	3.6
	Multiple races	2,880	66.5	52.6	4.5	37.1	4.3	10.3	3.1
Ethnicity	Non-Hispanic, all races	192,147	73.9	61.3	0.6	31.0	0.6	7.7	0.4
	Non-Hispanic, White	152,528	75.9	61.2	0.7	31.6	0.7	7.2	0.4
	Non-Hispanic, Black	24,935	67.8	66.1	1.3	24.3	1.1	9.6	0.6
	Hispanic, all races	29,517	50.7	57.7	1.4	29.3	1.2	13.1	0.9
Family income^a	Negative/poor	23,414	62.6	58.4	1.4	28.5	1.2	13.2	1.0
	Near poor/low	37,191	64.2	57.3	1.4	30.7	1.3	12.0	0.8
	Middle	69,053	68.2	59.4	1.0	31.0	0.9	9.6	0.6
	High	92,007	77.5	63.6	0.9	31.3	0.8	5.1	0.4
Education^b	Less than high school	40,399	62.4	58.8	1.2	28.8	1.1	12.5	0.9
	High school graduate	68,260	66.6	60.6	0.8	29.9	0.8	9.5	0.6
	At least some college	111,760	76.3	61.7	0.7	32.0	0.7	6.3	0.4
Employment status, ages 18–64	Employed	149,151	66.4	60.9	0.7	31.1	0.7	8.0	0.4
Employment status, ages 18–64	Not employed	36,439	71.9	58.4	1.1	31.4	1.0	10.2	0.8
Health insurance, ages 18–64	Any private	136,827	73.2	62.0	0.7	31.3	0.7	6.8	0.4
	Public only	16,734	73.2	52.9	1.6	31.3	1.4	15.8	1.3
	Uninsured	32,116	39.6	55.1	1.8	30.1	1.6	14.9	1.3
Health insurance, age 65 and over	Medicare only	10,927	85.8	61.1	1.9	31.4	1.8	7.4	1.2
	Medicare and private	20,862	90.8	64.2	1.5	29.6	1.5	6.3	0.7
	Medicare and other public	3,904	85.6	63.0	2.8	23.6	2.4	13.4	1.7
Residence location^c	Metropolitan	184,536	70.5	60.9	0.6	30.8	0.6	8.3	0.4
	Large central metro	66,201	67.1	60.3	1.1	29.8	1.0	9.9	0.6
	Large fringe metro	52,607	73.0	61.7	1.1	30.4	1.0	7.8	0.7
	Medium metro	46,189	73.2	60.0	1.1	32.9	1.1	7.1	0.7
	Small metro	19,540	69.4	62.8	2.0	29.9	1.7	7.4	0.8
	Nonmetropolitan	37,128	72.1	61.1	1.4	31.0	1.3	7.9	0.7
	Micropolitan	24,719	71.3	60.8	1.5	31.1	1.5	8.1	0.6
	Noncore	12,410	73.8	61.8	1.9	30.8	1.9	7.5	1.3
Language spoken most often at home	English	197,472	73.5	61.5	0.6	30.7	0.6	7.8	0.3
Language spoken most often at home	Other	24,175	48.8	53.7	1.9	32.1	1.6	14.2	1.2
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	192,990	68.6	62.6	0.6	30.3	0.6	7.1	0.3
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	28,674	85.7	51.8	1.3	33.9	1.1	14.3	0.9
Activity limitations^c	Basic activities	29,665	87.8	56.1	1.1	32.2	1.1	11.7	0.9
	Complex activities	17,418	88.0	54.3	1.6	32.2	1.4	13.5	1.2
	Neither basic nor complex activities	186,638	68.0	62.1	0.6	30.5	0.6	7.4	0.3

^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 14_1_5-1: 2009 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. March 2010. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr09/14_patientcenteredness/T14_1_5-1.html