Disparities in access to preventive health care can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of the region’s population. Access to preventive care promotes better health outcomes through early screening and early intervention. Preventive care can also improve social and economic well being by reducing long-term medical costs, increasing workforce productivity, and helping to mitigate the adverse effects of chronic conditions.
The Health Care Map Series examines access to preventive care by documenting variations in the rates of prenatal care, well-child visits, and emergency room use for problems that could have been more appropriately treated in a doctor’s office. The maps raise important questions about inequities in access to health care and the implications of these inequities for the long-term health of the region’s most vulnerable populations.
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Photo credits, top to bottom: Original image URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocketboom/4510027111/ Title: Baby Shower - 0544;
Original image URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/biggreymare/3281804804/ Title: Trip To The Doctor's Office #4--The Nurse