Only about half of U.S. adults received selected preventive services from a healthcare professional before 2010, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study, "Use of Selected Clinical Preventive Services Among Adults — United States, 2007-2010," offers a comprehensive look at adult clinical preventive services nationwide. These services, identified by the CDC as public health priorities, were evaluated prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act.
The report provides baseline data on the use of selected adult preventive services, including aspirin or other blood-thinning therapy, controlling blood pressure, screening for and controlling high cholesterol and ending tobacco use. The report found:
• Of patients with heart disease primarily affecting the blood vessels, only 47% were prescribed the recommended daily use of aspirin during visits to their physicians.
• Fewer than half (44%) of people with hypertension had the condition under control, despite U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines that state adults ages 18 and older with hypertension should receive a clinical treatment plan that might include medications and monthly follow-up visits until healthy blood pressure is achieved.
• Despite strong evidence that screening and treating for hyperlipidemia reduces sickness and death due to heart disease, about 33.4% of men and 25.6% of women were not screened during the preceding five years. Of those adults identified with high levels of LDL cholesterol, only about 32% of both men and women had it under control.
• According to data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Health Interview Summary, fewer than one in 13 tobacco users were prescribed medications to help them end their tobacco use when they saw their physician.
"Clinical preventive services prevent heart attack, stroke, cancer and other diseases and save lives," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a news release. "This report provides a snapshot of preventive services for U.S. adults before 2010. As we look to the future, we can track how our nation’s health is progressing through better prevention in healthcare."
The CDC noted these data could change because of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the future of which is expected to be determined by a Supreme Court ruling later this month on the law’s constitutionality.
These provisions include a requirement for new private health insurance plans to cover recommended preventive services with no cost-sharing. The law also requires coverage for a new annual wellness visit under Medicare and eliminates cost sharing for recommended preventive services provided to Medicare beneficiaries; gives state Medicaid programs financial incentives to cover preventive services for adults; and supports initiatives to improve public understanding of the benefits of preventive services.
In 2011, the Affordable Care Act provided approximately 54 million Americans with at least one new free preventive service through their private health insurance plans, according to the CDC. An estimated 32.5 million people with Medicare received at least one free preventive benefit in 2011, including the annual wellness visit.
The CDC noted several federal programs are in place to increase the use of and improve access to clinical preventive health services. These include the Million Hearts initiative, the objective of which is to increase the number of clinicians who deliver appropriate counseling on the use of aspirin and other blood-thinning therapies for patients at high risk of myocardial infarction or stroke.
The CDC and its partners work with medical systems and health provider organizations to increase the number of physicians who routinely screen patients for tobacco use and provide advice for how to end tobacco use, establish systems of referral to tobacco quit lines and other community resources, and reduce economic barriers by removing co-payments and including quit-line coaching and cessation medication as covered benefits.
The wide-ranging report also provides baseline data on diabetes management, colon and breast cancer screening, HIV testing and influenza vaccination. The table of contents, with links to the individual sections, is available at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/ind2012_su.html (dated June 15).
The study, "Use of Selected Clinical Preventive Services Among Adults — United States, 2007-2010," offers a comprehensive look at adult clinical preventive services nationwide. These services, identified by the CDC as public health priorities, were evaluated prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act.
The report provides baseline data on the use of selected adult preventive services, including aspirin or other blood-thinning therapy, controlling blood pressure, screening for and controlling high cholesterol and ending tobacco use. The report found:
• Of patients with heart disease primarily affecting the blood vessels, only 47% were prescribed the recommended daily use of aspirin during visits to their physicians.
• Fewer than half (44%) of people with hypertension had the condition under control, despite U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines that state adults ages 18 and older with hypertension should receive a clinical treatment plan that might include medications and monthly follow-up visits until healthy blood pressure is achieved.
• Despite strong evidence that screening and treating for hyperlipidemia reduces sickness and death due to heart disease, about 33.4% of men and 25.6% of women were not screened during the preceding five years. Of those adults identified with high levels of LDL cholesterol, only about 32% of both men and women had it under control.
• According to data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Health Interview Summary, fewer than one in 13 tobacco users were prescribed medications to help them end their tobacco use when they saw their physician.
"Clinical preventive services prevent heart attack, stroke, cancer and other diseases and save lives," CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, said in a news release. "This report provides a snapshot of preventive services for U.S. adults before 2010. As we look to the future, we can track how our nation’s health is progressing through better prevention in healthcare."
The CDC noted these data could change because of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the future of which is expected to be determined by a Supreme Court ruling later this month on the law’s constitutionality.
These provisions include a requirement for new private health insurance plans to cover recommended preventive services with no cost-sharing. The law also requires coverage for a new annual wellness visit under Medicare and eliminates cost sharing for recommended preventive services provided to Medicare beneficiaries; gives state Medicaid programs financial incentives to cover preventive services for adults; and supports initiatives to improve public understanding of the benefits of preventive services.
In 2011, the Affordable Care Act provided approximately 54 million Americans with at least one new free preventive service through their private health insurance plans, according to the CDC. An estimated 32.5 million people with Medicare received at least one free preventive benefit in 2011, including the annual wellness visit.
The CDC noted several federal programs are in place to increase the use of and improve access to clinical preventive health services. These include the Million Hearts initiative, the objective of which is to increase the number of clinicians who deliver appropriate counseling on the use of aspirin and other blood-thinning therapies for patients at high risk of myocardial infarction or stroke.
The CDC and its partners work with medical systems and health provider organizations to increase the number of physicians who routinely screen patients for tobacco use and provide advice for how to end tobacco use, establish systems of referral to tobacco quit lines and other community resources, and reduce economic barriers by removing co-payments and including quit-line coaching and cessation medication as covered benefits.
The wide-ranging report also provides baseline data on diabetes management, colon and breast cancer screening, HIV testing and influenza vaccination. The table of contents, with links to the individual sections, is available at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/ind2012_su.html (dated June 15).
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