Why Is Access to Health Services Important?

• Access to health services means “the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best health outcomes.”It requires 3 distinct steps:
• Gaining entry into the health care system (usually through insurance coverage)
• Accessing a location where needed health care services are provided (geographic availability)
• Finding a health care provider whom the patient trusts and can communicate with (personal relationship)
• Access to health care impacts one’s overall physical, social, and mental health status and quality of life.
• Barriers to health services include:
• High cost of care
• Inadequate or no insurance coverage
• Lack of availability of services
• Lack of culturally competent care

These barriers to accessing health services lead to:

• Unmet health needs
• Delays in receiving appropriate care
• Inability to get preventive services
• Financial burdens
• Preventable hospitalizations
• Access to care often varies based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, sex, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and residential location provide culturally competent care to diverse populations.

Specific issues that should be monitored over the next decade include:

• Increasing and measuring insurance coverage and access to the entire care continuum (from clinical preventive services to oral health care to long-term and palliative care)
• Addressing disparities that affect access to health care (e.g., race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, sex, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and residential location)
• Assessing the capacity of the health care system to provide services for newly insured individuals
• Determining changes in health care workforce needs as new models for the delivery of primary care become more prevalent, such as the patient-centered medical home and team-based care
• Monitoring the increasing use of telehealth as an emerging method of delivering health care