| OCR Text |
Show HEALTH CARE The major areas of concern in health care are quality, cost, and access. Quality of health care has been traditionally defined from a provider's perspective by counting the number of health care providers, number of beds, etc. Currently, there is an increased emphasis on outcome, better reflecting the patient's perspective. Patient satisfaction, PRO generic screens, and HCFA hospital mortality data are possible ways of measuring quality of outcome for health care. These indicators have not been included in this first edition of Utah's Health: An Annual Review because of the effort required to adequately address the issues associated with these indicators. Some such measures may be available for future editions. Access is another area of considerable importance in health care. Currently there is discussion as to how best to analyze access in rural areas. Definitions that have been used in the past have been somewhat limited in their effectiveness. New ideas are being developed in this area and some are included in this Review. Uninsured status is considered an important component of access, because those who do not have insurance tend to postpone health care. When care is necessary they often go to an emergency room. This increases costs and reduces the effectiveness of preventive measures. Health care costs and utilization of resources is the third item included in this section. This is important in itself and also because of its affect upon quality and access. If costs are too high, then access is likely to be restricted and quality may be compromised. Patient Care Physicians1 Table 75 Patient Care Physicians per 100,000 Population Year Utah US 1986 153 180 1987 156 184 1988 159 189 1989 162 193 1990 162 198 For each of the years examined, Utah has a lower number of physicians per 100,000 population than does the nation (Table 75). Between 1986 and 1990 there was an increase in the number of patient care physicians per 100,000 population for both Utah and the nation. Utah increased by 5.9%, while the U.S. increased 10%. Source: Utah Hospital Association. (1992). Utah Hospital Fact Book 1992: A Profile of Health Care in Utah (8th cd.). Salt Lake City: Author, p. 22. 1 Active Non-Federal Physicians. 64 HEALTHCARE |
