Frequent Outpatient Contact and Decreasing Medication Affordability in Patients With Diabetes From 1997 to 2004

Abstract

We used data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine U.S. annual trends in diabetes care from 1997 to 2004. The NHIS is an annual nationwide in-person household survey conducted by the Census Bureau that includes an in-depth adult health care access and utilization survey. Sampled adults were asked about demographic and socioeconomic information, diagnosed conditions, self-reported ability to afford prescription medications in the prior year, perceived barriers to obtaining clinic appointments (e.g., long waits for appointments, difficulty making appointments, difficulty reaching the clinic by phone), and frequency of outpatient clinical contact (excluding overnight hospitalizations, telephone calls, and emergency room, dental, or home visits). Response rates over this 8-year period varied from 80.8 to 90.3%.