Access to health care in America

Starting p. 1) -- General Conclusions on the State of Access (starting p. 3) -- Defining Access (starting p. 4) -- The Committee's Indicators and Progress Toward Access Objectives (starting p. 5) -- Objective 1: Promoting Successful Birth Outcomes (starting p. 5) -- Objective 2: Reducing the Incidence of Vaccine-Preventable Childhood Diseases (starting p. 7) -- Objective 3: Early Detection and Diagnosis of Treatable Diseases (starting p. 8) -- Objective 4: Reducing the Effects of Chronic Disease and Prolonging Life (starting p. 11) -- Objective 5: Reducing Morbidity and Pain Through Timely and Appropriate Treatment (starting p. 14) -- Recommendations (starting p. 16) -- 1 Introduction (starting p. 19) -- Background (starting p. 20) -- Developing a Set of Indicators (starting p. 21) -- Relationship of Access Monitoring to Other Relevant Activities (starting p. 22) -- Major Data Sources: Their Uses and Limitations (starting p. 23) -- Strengths and Weaknesses (starting p. 25) -- Crosscutting Issues (starting p. 28) -- 2 A Model for Monitoring Access (starting p. 31) -- Defining Access (starting p. 32) -- Measuring Access (starting p. 34) -- Indicators (starting p. 34) -- Utilization and Its Relationship to Health Care (starting p. 37) -- Barriers to Access (starting p. 39) -- 3 Using Indicators to Monitor National Objectives for Health Care (starting p. 46) -- Objective 1: Promoting Successful Birth Outcomes (starting p. 49) -- Utilization Indicator: Adequacy of Prenatal Care (starting p. 49) -- Outcome Indicator: Infant Mortality (starting p. 56) -- Outcome Indicator: Low Birthweight (starting p. 61) -- Outcome Indicator: Congenital Syphilis (starting p. 66) -- Objective 2: Reducing the Incidence of Vaccine-Preventable Childhood Diseases (starting p. 69) -- Utilization Indicator: Preschool Immunization (starting p. 69) -- Outcome Indicator: Incidence of Vaccine-Preventable Childhood Diseases (starting p. 75) -- Objective 3: Early Detection and Diagnosis of Treatable Diseases (starting p. 79) -- Utilization Indicators: Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Procedures (starting p. 79) -- Outcome Indicator: Incidence of Late-Stage Breast and Cervical Cancers (starting p. 86) -- Objective 4: Reducing the Effects of Chronic Diseases and Prolonging Life (starting p. 91) -- Utilization Indicator: Continuing Care for Chronic Diseases (starting p. 91) -- Utilization Indicator: Use of High-Cost Discretionary Care (starting p. 98) -- Outcome Indicator: Avoidable Hospitalization for Chronic Diseases (starting p. 102) -- Outcome Indicator: Access-Related Excess Mortality (starting p. 106) -- Objective 5: Reducing Morbidity and Pain Through Timely and Appropriate Treatment (starting p. 112) -- Utilization Indicator: Percentage of Healthy Individuals Who Do Not Contact a Physician During an Acute Episode of Illness (starting p. 112) -- Utilization Indicator: Dental Services (starting p. 115) -- Outcome Indicator: Avoidable Hospitalization for Acute Conditions (starting p. 121) -- 4 Future Indicators (starting p. 130) -- Access to Health Care for People with Disabilities (starting p. 132) -- Family Violence (starting p. 133) -- Emergency Services (starting p. 134) -- Post-Acute-Care Services for the Elderly (starting p. 134) -- Prescription Drugs (starting p. 135) -- 5 Recommendations (starting p. 137) -- Crosscutting Recommendations (starting p. 137) -- Future Steps (starting p. 140) -- Objective 1: Promoting Successful Births (starting p. 140) -- Objective 2: Reducing the Incidence of Vaccine-Preventable Childhood Diseases (starting p. 141) -- Objective 3: Early Detection and Diagnosis of Treatable Diseases (starting p. 142) -- Objective 4: Reducing the Effects of Chronic Diseases and Prolonging Life (starting p. 143) -- Objective 5: Reducing Morbidity and Pain Through Timely and Appropriate Treatment (starting p. 144) -- App. A: Developing Indicators of Access to Care: The Case for HIV Disease (starting p. 147) / Vincent Mor -- App. B: Developing Indicators of Access to Care: Waiting Lists for Drug Abuse Treatment (starting p. 181) / Don C. Des Jarlais, Samuuel R. Friedman -- App. C: Developing Indicators of Access to Care: The Case for Migrants and the Homeless (starting p. 199) / Joanne E. Lukomnik -- App. D: "Ambulatory-Care-Sensitive" Conditions and "Referral-Sensitive" Surgeries (starting p. 219) -- Index (starting p. 223).

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.