Health, United States, 2012 is the 36th report on the health status of the Nation and is submitted by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to the President and the Congress of the United States in compliance with Section 308 of the Public Health Service Act. This report was compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics served in a review capacity.

The Health, United States series presents an annual overview of national trends in health statistics. The report contains a Chartbook that assesses the Nation’s health by presenting trends and current information on selected measures of morbidity, mortality, health care utilization, health risk factors, prevention, health insurance, and personal health care expenditures. This year’s Chartbook includes a Special Feature on Emergency Care. The report also contains 134 Trend Tables organized around four major subject areas: health status and determinants, health care utilization, health care resources, and health care expenditures. A companion product—Health, United States: In Brief—features information extracted from the full report. The complete report, In Brief, and related data products are available on the Health, United States website at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm.

Contents

• Preface
• Special Acknowledgment
• Acknowledgments
• At a Glance Table and Highlights
  • At a Glance Table
  • Highlights
    • Special Feature on Emergency Care
    • Life Expectancy and Mortality
    • Fertility and Natality
    • Health Risk Factors
    • Measures of Health and Disease Prevalence
    • Health Care Utilization
    • Unmet Need for Medical Care, Prescription Drugs, and Dental Care Due to Cost
    • Health Care Resources
    • Health Care Expenditures and Payers
    • Health Insurance Coverage
• Chartbook With Special Feature on Emergency Care
  • Chartbook: Figures 1–19
    • Mortality
      • Life Expectancy at Birth
      • Infant Mortality
      • Selected Causes of Death
      • Motor Vehicle-related Death Rates
    • Natality
      • Teenage Childbearing
    • Morbidity
      • Heart Disease Prevalence
    • Disability Measures
      • Basic Actions Difficulty and Complex Activity Limitation
    • Health Risk Factors
      • Current Cigarette Smoking
      • Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure
      • Obesity Among Children
      • Overweight and Obesity Among Adults
    • Prevention
      • Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination
      • Colorectal Tests or Procedures
    • Health Insurance
      • Coverage Among Adults Aged 18–64
      • Coverage Among Adults Aged 19–25
    • Utilization and Access
      • Prescription Drug Use
      • Primary Care Generalist and Specialty Care Physician Office Visits
      • Delay or Nonreceipt of Needed Medical Care or Prescription Drugs Due to Cost
    • Personal Health Care Expenditures
      • Major Source of Funds
    • References for Figures 1–19
  • Chartbook: Figures 20–29
    • Special Feature on Emergency Care
      • Introduction
      • Emergency Department Use, by Age
      • Emergency Department Use, by Insurance Coverage
      • Triage of Visits
      • Reason for Visit
      • Injury
      • Wait Time to See a Physician
      • Imaging
      • Discharge Status of Emergency Department Visits
      • Drugs Prescribed at Discharge From the Emergency Department
      • Expenses per Emergency Department Visit
      • Data Tables for Special Feature: Figures 20–29
  • Technical Notes
    • Data Sources and Comparability
    • Data Presentation
    • Statistical Testing
    • References
• Trend Tables
  • Health Status and Determinants
  • Utilization of Health Resources
  • Health Care Resources
  • Health Care Expenditures and Payers
• Appendixes
  • Appendix I Data Sources
  • Appendix II Definitions and Methods
  • Appendix III Additional Data Years Available

Suggested citation:

National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2012: With Special Feature on Emergency Care. Hyattsville, MD. 2013.