Access to Care

Culturally Competent Care Elusive for 3 in 10 Immigrant Patients

by Sara Heath

Three in 10 of the immigrant patients who have accessed healthcare in the US have experienced more than one challenge in accessing culturally competent care, with another quarter saying they’ve...

Zocdoc Enters Practice Management, Patient Access Tech Space

by Sara Heath

Zocdoc has unveiled a new suite of tools to enable patient access and practice management, part of the Zocdoc Practice Solutions, the company announced in a press release. The technologies will...

Few Hospitals Excel in Racial Inclusivity, Health Equity Work

by Sara Heath

Very few hospitals are doing well in racial inclusivity, but there aren’t many that are vastly underperforming either, with a new analysis from the Lown Institute looking at how some...

Appointment Scheduling Fixes Needed for LEP Patient Access

by Sara Heath

The appointment scheduling process is proving not ideal, especially for Spanish-speaking or limited English proficiency (LEP) patients, according to data from RAND. The study, published in Health...

HHS Proposal Codifies Antidiscrimination, Protects Patient Access to Care

by Sara Heath

A new proposed rule out of the Department of Health and Human Services seeks to update parts of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to further prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in...

Rural Hospitals Focus on Social Determinants of Health, Transportation

by Sara Heath

Rural healthcare organizations excel at addressing social determinants of health despite the barriers blocking patient care access, a new University of Missouri study found. Overall, hospitals and...

How Pediatricians Can Prepare for the RSV Vaccine Rollout

by Sara Heath

Jonathan Miller, MD, the chief of primary care at Nemours Children’s Health in Delaware, doesn’t think the RSV vaccine rollout is going to go the same as the COVID vaccines for infants and young kids. It’s probably going...

Patient Education, Navigation Stand in the Way of Preventive Screening

by Sara Heath

There are a lot of reasons why a young person might delay a preventive screening, with a new survey looking at colorectal cancer (CRC) screening showing that patient education and navigation are...

Community Health Centers Offer Care Access for 31.5M Patients

by Sara Heath

New data from the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) outlines the expansive reach of community health centers, showing how the clinics extend care access to numerous traditionally...

78% of Adults with OUD Go Without Access to Addiction Treatment

by Sara Heath

Only a fifth of the nearly 2.5 million adults with opioid use disorder received medication for the disease 2021, leaving millions without access to addiction treatment, according to new data from the...

Maternity Deserts, Low Access to Care Affect 5.6M Birthing People

by Sara Heath

A whopping 5.6 million birthing people are finding themselves without access to maternity care as the prevalence of maternity deserts continues to grow, according to reports from March of Dimes. These...

Gender-Affirming Care Restrictions Create Travel, Care Access Barriers

by Sara Heath

The travel distances that gender-affirming care restrictions, now codified in many state policies, have created are getting insurmountable, with a new analysis in JAMA showing some people must travel...

Making HIV Testing A Standard of Preventive Care to Boost Equity

by Sara Heath

Maranda Ward, EdD, MPH, wants every primary care provider asking all of their patients about HIV screening as a standard of preventive care. After all, that’s the best way to keep patients from slipping through the cracks and going...

A Quarter of Patients Face Two-Month Appointment Wait Times

by Sara Heath

Appointment wait times are reaching a boiling point, with new data from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) pitching nurse practitioners themselves to fill in patient care access...

US Has Worst Geographic Health Disparities in Developed World

by Sara Heath

The United States is home to the biggest geographic health disparities in the developed world, with researchers supported by the Commonwealth Fund finding significant outcomes differences falling along...

Expanding Cancer Screening Access Beyond Charity Care

by Sara Heath

It’s not uncommon for healthcare organizations to set up free breast cancer screening events as part of their charity care efforts to serve low-income, uninsured people. But what happens when a screening turns into a breast cancer...

Cost, Location Top Factors Influencing Patient Care Access Decisions

by Sara Heath

Cost might be the most important issue when making patient care access decisions, but factors like convenience and location aren’t far behind, according to the Healthcare Patient Consumer Survey...

Racial Health Disparities in Pain Levels Exist in Elite Athletes

by Sara Heath

Even among patients with endless resources at their fingertips, racial health disparities loom large. In a study of professional football players, researchers found that Black players report worse and...

How AI in the Call Center Can Improve Staff, Patient Experience

by Sara Heath

For a certain patient population, the appointment scheduling process needs to look a bit like booking a flight. They know where they want to go, which service they need, and which clinician they want to see. And it makes no sense for those...

Uber Health Expands to OTC and Grocery Delivery Services

by Sarai Rodriguez

Uber Health, the rideshare company's healthcare arm, has broadened its service capabilities by launching grocery and over-the-counter pharmacy product delivery services to break down patient...