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Show PERCENTAGE OF OUTPATIENT VISITS BY TYPE OF HEALTH CARE FACILITY Utah data regarding outpatient visits were taken from a survey conducted by the Utah Department of Health in 1991. The Utah data represent the percentage distribution of locations where routine health care occurs. Data for the nation are available only for 1989, making the data similar but not exactly comparable. The U.S. data report the location at which contact with a physician is made. In both surveys the physician's office is the place where people most frequently obtain routine health care and come into contact with a physician. The data presented suggest that people in the U.S., on average, utilize more hospital outpatient clinics than do Utahns (Table 69). Outpatient Visits Table 69 Year Doctor's Office Hospital Outpatient Clinic Other Clinic Other Utah 1991 U.S. 1989 71.4 59.6 7.8 13.2 16.5 0.4 SELF-PERCEIVED HEALTH STATUS Utah data on self-perceived health status were obtained from health status surveys conducted by the Utah Department of Health in 1986 and 1991. Overall, Utahns appear to rate their health status as favorable. The most interesting shift from 1986 to 1991 occurred in the rating of the "excellent" category. From 1986 to 1991, there was nearly a 6% decrease in those who rated their health as excellent. This decrease may be the result of random fluctuation in the sample selected, since more data points are needed to establish trend characteristics. Other highlights include a shift upwards in those who rated their health status as "good" or "very good" in 1991. The "Poor or Fair" category remained relatively unchanged (Table 70). National surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1984 and 1989 found that those who rated their health as "poor or fair," or "good" decreased from 1984 to 1989, while those who rated their health as "very good" or "excellent" increased. The "excellent" classification had only a 0.4% increase. Self-Perceived Health Status Table 70 Poor or Fair Good Very Good Excellent Utah % for 1986 & 1991 U.S. % for 1984 & 1989 7.8 7.8 10.5 9.1 18.2 22.6 23.4 22.2 30.8 31.7 25.8 27.9 43.2 37.9 40.3 40.7 46 HEALTH STATUS |