U.S. Value: 77.6% (2020); 84.1% (2021)
Healthiest State: New Hampshire: 87.9% (2020); 90.9% (2021)
Least-healthy State: Alaska: 65.6% (2020); New Mexico: 74.1% (2021)
Definition: Percentage of adults who reported having a personal doctor or health care provider
Data Source & Year(s): CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2022.
Individuals with a dedicated health care provider are better positioned to receive care that can prevent, detect and manage disease and other health conditions. Having a regular health care provider helps the patient and provider build a stable, long-term relationship that is associated with a number of benefits, including:
Populations of adults with a higher percentage of a dedicated healthcare provider include:
Increasing the proportion of individuals with a usual primary care provider is a Healthy People 2030 leading health indicator.
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/dedicated_health_care_provider/state/IN Last accesses Dec 2022
Dedicated Health Care Provider
Data Source & Year(s): CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2022.
Strategies for increasing the percentage of adults with a dedicated health care provider include:
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/dedicated_health_care_provider/state/IN Last accessed Dec 2022
Factors such as access to transportation, travel distance, and the supply of primary care providers can limit people's ability to get primary care. For example, rural residents may need to travel long distances to get primary care and thus may be less likely to seek preventive care such as vaccinations. Additionally, primary care provider shortages and extreme demand often make it challenging for patients to get an appointment.13
Some obstacles include lack of health insurance,7,8,9 language-related barriers,10 disabilities,11 inability to take time off work to attend appointments,12 geographic and transportation-related barriers,13 Limited provider office hours, and a shortage of primary care providers.14 These barriers may intersect to further reduce access to primary care.
Source: https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/access-primary-care
Last accessed Dec 2022
Primary care is critical for improving population health and reducing health disparities.4 Therefore, addressing barriers to accessing primary care may help reduce disparities and reduce the risk of poor health outcomes. For example, the National Health Service Corps supports the work of primary health care clinicians in areas of the United States with limited access to care, also called health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).23 Digital solutions like telehealth can also improve access to primary care by reducing barriers related to transportation and expanding the ability to offer services in languages other than English.24
Source: https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/access-primary-care
Last accessed Dec 2022
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/dedicated_health_care_provider/state/IN
Last accessed Dec 2022