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Health Indicator Report of Personal doctor or health care provider

As each new health care need arises, an individual's first point of contact with the health care system is typically his or her personal doctor. In most cases a personal doctor can effectively and efficiently manage a patient's medical care because they understand that person's medical history and social background. Having a regular source of health care is also an indicator of overall access to care.

At least one primary provider by local health district, Utah, 2021


At least one primary provider by local health district, Utah, 2021

Notes

Age-adjusted to U.S. 2000 standard population.

Data Sources

  • The Utah Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data, US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Data Interpretation Issues

Question Text: "Do you have one person you think of as your personal doctor or health care provider?" Respondents can answer "Yes, only one", "Yes, more than one" or "No." For this indicator, the two "Yes" responses have been combined. Beginning in 2011, BRFSS data include both landline and cell phone respondent data along with a new weighting methodology called iterative proportional fitting, or raking. This methodology utilizes additional demographic information (such as education, race, and marital status) in the weighting procedure. Both of these methodology changes were implemented to account for an increased number of U.S. households without landline phones and an under-representation of certain demographic groups that were not well-represented in the sample. More details about these changes can be found at: [https://ibis.health.utah.gov/pdf/opha/resource/brfss/RakingImpact2011.pdf]. As with all surveys, some error results from nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions) and measurement (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). Error was minimized by use of strict calling protocols (up to 15 calls were made to reach each household), good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision.

Definition

Percentage of adults who reported having one or more persons they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider.

Numerator

Number of adults who reported having at least one person they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider.

Denominator

Total number of adults interviewed during the same survey period.

Healthy People Objective AHS-3:

Increase the proportion of persons with a usual primary care provider
U.S. Target: 83.9 percent

Other Objectives

One of Utah's 42 Community Health Indicators.

How Are We Doing?

In 2020, 73.7% (crude rate) of Utah adults reported having at least one person they think of as their personal doctor or health care provider. However, 26.3% of Utahns did not have a personal doctor or health care provider. Lack of a primary care provider was more common among young adults, especially men ages 18 to 34 (only 48.6% reported having a personal doctor) in 2020. In 2018-2020, the Washington Co (Other) V2 Small Area (60.5%), the San Juan (Other) Small Area (53.9%), and West Valley (East) V2 Small Area (62.2%) had the lowest age-adjusted rates of people who reported having a primary care provider among all of the 99 Utah Small Areas.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

In 2020, Utah (74.6%) had a similar age-adjusted rate of persons reporting a primary care provider when compared with the U.S. (75.3%), though the Utah rate was lower at a statistically significant rate than that for the U.S.

What Is Being Done?

The Utah Department of Health has programs such as Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Utah's Premium Partnership for Health Insurance (UPP) to pay health care costs for low-income children and adults and those with disabilities.

Available Services

MEDICAID: In the Salt Lake City area, call (801) 538-6155[[br]] In Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, call toll-free (800) 662-9651[[br]] From other states, call (801) 538-6155[[br]] Medicaid Customer Service staff are available to take inquiries.[[br]] [[br]] CHIP: Children's Health Insurance Program (for children 0-18)[[br]] Call the Health Resource Line: (888) 222-2542 for information on CHIP.[[br]] Or visit the CHIP website at [http://chip.health.utah.gov/] [[br]]
Page Content Updated On 10/11/2022, Published on 11/10/2022
The information provided above is from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services IBIS-PH web site (http://ibis.health.state.gov). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Tue, 19 March 2024 3:14:23 from Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.health.state.gov ".

Content updated: Thu, 10 Nov 2022 16:47:02 MST