AHRQ Stats: Access to Medical Specialists

Among adults treated for multiple chronic conditions who reported they needed to see a specialist in 2012, Hispanics were more likely than non-Hispanic blacks or whites to report difficulty in gaining access to specialists. (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Statistical Brief #482,Specialist Need and Access Among Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2012.)

STATISTICAL BRIEF #482:
Specialist Need and Access among Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions, U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2012

November 2015

Anita Soni, PhD, MBA

In 2012, approximately 60 percent of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized adult population who had multiple chronic conditions (see definitions) reported they or a doctor thought they needed to see a specialist in the past 12 months.
Among adults with two or more chronic conditions, younger adults were less likely to report that they or a doctor thought that they needed to see a specialist compared to the elderly.
Among adults with multiple chronic conditions who reported they needed to see a specialist, Hispanics were more likely to report less access to specialists than non-Hispanic blacks or non-Hispanic whites.
Among nonelderly adults with multiple chronic conditions who reported they needed to see a specialist, uninsured persons reported less access to a specialist than adults with only public insurance or adults with private insurance coverage.