Table 12_1_5-1

2008 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 12_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, 2005
Population group		Total population (in thousands)^d	Percent had visit	Health providers explained things clearly
				Always		Usually		Sometimes or never
				Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE
Total		218,534	71.1	60.3	0.5	31.3	0.5	8.3	0.3
Age	18–44	109,568	61.8	58.7	0.8	31.7	0.8	9.6	0.5
	45–64	73,531	76.8	61.2	0.8	31.4	0.8	7.4	0.4
	65 and over	35,435	88.7	62.5	1.0	30.3	1.0	7.2	0.6
Gender	Male	105,337	62.3	60.6	0.7	31.2	0.8	8.2	0.5
Gender	Female	113,196	79.4	60.1	0.6	31.4	0.6	8.4	0.4
Race	White, single race	178,377	72.4	60.3	0.6	32.1	0.5	7.6	0.3
	Black, single race	25,245	66.3	64.5	1.4	24.0	1.3	11.6	0.7
	Asian, single race	9,563	62.6	50.5	2.9	36.2	2.9	13.2	2.0
	NHOPI, single race	774	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	AI/AN, single race	1,592	64.6	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Multiple races	2,983	69.1	63.9	4.2	27.7	3.8	*	*
Ethnicity	Non-Hispanic, all races	190,314	74.0	60.9	0.5	31.2	0.5	7.9	0.3
	Non-Hispanic, White	151,464	76.1	60.8	0.6	32.0	0.6	7.1	0.3
	Non-Hispanic, Black	24,610	66.4	65.0	1.4	23.6	1.3	11.4	0.7
	Hispanic	28,220	51.5	55.2	1.8	32.6	1.7	12.2	0.9
Family income^a	Negative/poor	23,459	64.7	57.0	1.6	28.9	1.3	14.1	1.1
	Near poor/low	37,576	64.4	58.5	1.2	30.6	1.1	10.9	0.8
	Middle	68,151	68.2	59.5	1.0	31.5	0.9	9.0	0.6
	High	89,348	77.7	62.2	0.8	32.0	0.8	5.8	0.4
Education^b	Less than high school	40,899	62.7	56.6	1.3	29.9	1.2	13.5	0.8
	High school graduate	69,699	68.4	60.1	0.9	31.1	0.8	8.8	0.5
	At least some college	106,450	76.2	61.7	0.7	31.9	0.7	6.3	0.4
Employment status, ages 18–64	Employed	146,184	66.2	61.1	0.7	31.2	0.6	7.7	0.4
Employment status, ages 18–64	Not employed	36,849	74.1	55.0	1.1	33.0	1.1	12.0	0.8
Health insurance, ages 18–64	Any private	135,688	73.2	61.2	0.6	31.5	0.6	7.3	0.4
	Public only	16,755	75.3	54.1	1.6	31.6	1.4	14.4	1.2
	Uninsured	30,656	39.7	54.0	1.8	32.4	1.7	13.6	1.1
Health insurance, age 65 and over	Medicare only	9,822	86.4	62.8	2.1	30.3	1.9	6.8	1.2
	Medicare and private	21,094	90.4	62.6	1.4	31.3	1.3	6.1	0.7
	Medicare and other public	4,109	87.3	62.2	3.2	24.1	2.6	13.7	2.3
Residence location^c	Metropolitan	181,779	70.9	60.3	0.5	31.3	0.5	8.4	0.3
	Large central metro	65,351	68.1	58.0	0.9	31.9	0.8	10.1	0.7
	Large fringe metro	53,065	72.2	63.0	1.1	29.9	1.0	7.1	0.5
	Medium metro	44,316	73.2	61.3	1.0	31.5	1.0	7.2	0.6
	Small metro	19,047	71.5	58.2	1.8	32.5	1.7	9.3	0.9
	Nonmetropolitan	36,755	72.3	60.3	1.3	31.6	1.2	8.1	0.5
	Micropolitan	24,051	71.6	60.1	1.8	31.6	1.6	8.3	0.7
	Noncore	12,704	73.6	60.5	2.2	31.6	2.2	7.8	1.0
Language spoken most often at home	English	194,628	73.8	61.0	0.5	31.0	0.5	8.0	0.3
Language spoken most often at home	Other	23,906	49.1	51.5	2.1	35.6	2.1	13.0	1.0
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	189,392	69.0	61.9	0.6	30.8	0.5	7.3	0.3
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	29,133	85.5	52.0	1.2	34.0	1.1	14.0	0.8
Activity limitations^c	Basic activities	29,551	87.7	54.7	1.3	33.9	1.1	11.4	0.8
	Complex activities	18,009	87.8	52.1	1.4	34.2	1.4	13.7	1.0
	Neither basic nor complex activities	183,030	68.1	61.7	0.6	30.8	0.6	7.5	0.3

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

* - 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 September 2009

Internet Citation: Table 12_1_5-1: 2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. September 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr08/12_patientcenteredness/T12_1_5-1.html