Use of US health services stays fairly constant over 40 years

Citation

(2001), "Use of US health services stays fairly constant over 40 years", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 14 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2001.06214gab.012

Use of US health services stays fairly constant over 40 years

Use of US health services stays fairly constant over 40 years

Despite substantial changes in the organisation and financing of health care in the USA, the estimated monthly use of health-care services by Americans has remained remarkably consistent over the past four decades, according to a new study supported by the Agency for Health-care Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The researchers found that, in an average month, 800 out of every 1,000 US men, women and children experience health-related symptoms; 217 visit a physician and eight are hospitalised. Fewer than one per 1,000 is admitted in a month to a teaching hospital. The research team based its estimates primarily on data from AHRQ's 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which tracks the health-care use of a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalised Americans. Other data sources, including a Gallup Survey conducted in April-May 2000, were used to estimate the number of people who considered seeking health care and those who received care from a provider of complementary or alternative medicine.

According to the researchers, these findings reconfirm that the majority of medical care experienced by most Americans occurs outside hospitals. The findings suggest that those involved in medical education, research and clinical practice should strive for a balanced view of the "ecology" of health care by considering the health and health care of the entire population, regardless of care setting.

For further information: see "The ecology of medical care revisited" in the 28 June 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.