Leaving UtahHealthScape

How well does Utah’s healthcare system work?

The Commonwealth Fund's State Scorecard on Health System Performance 2009 ranked Utah 19th overall in health care quality compared with other states.

Utah scored highest on:

• Avoidable Hospital Use and Cost. The state ranked first in this area.
• Healthy Lives. Utah ranked 4th overall. This category includes rates of smoking, overweight children, and deaths from colorectal cancer, among other categories.

Utah scored more poorly on:

• Access to Care (ranked 31st).
• Prevention and Treatment (ranked 35th).
• Equity (ranked 45th).

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Utah scores slightly above average in overall health care quality. 

Utah performs strongly on:

• Home Health Care – including residents getting better at walking, bathing, and taking medication.
• Diabetes Care – including fewer hospital admissions for certain diabetes patients.
• Respiratory Disease Care – including flu and pneumococcal vaccinations and pneumonia patients getting the recommended care in a hospital.

Areas where Utah could improve significantly are:

• Preventive Care – including mammograms and Pap tests for women and immunizations for children.
• Nursing Home Care – including the number of residents experiencing depression or moderate to severe pain.
• Maternal and Child Health Care – including certain immunizations for children.

Overall, Utah has a relatively healthy population with a health care system that performs well in many categories.  However, there is still room for improvement.  Reporting on quality measures is one way to applaud effective efforts and also a way to encourage better performance.  When consumers engage actively in following reports, and use them to make health care decisions, individuals benefit from better care and the system as a whole is pushed organically toward providing better care at a better value.  Involvement from consumers can also bring to the forefront issues that require broader public attention.