Health Data For All 64 Counties Now Available

With the latest legal battle over the Affordable Care Act in the rearview mirror, the conversation is shifting towards whether health reform ultimately leads to improved care. Access to care conversations are front and center.

Access to care is a complex challenge riddled with many questions: How many primary care physicians are practicing in Pueblo County? How many Denver residents are enrolled in Medicaid? And what types of providers will Douglas County need to recruit to meet emerging health care needs?

Health is local. But often, health workforce data is presented at the statewide level, and these aggregated statistics neglect important regional nuances. Further, these data are difficult to collect and understand, particularly in a broader statewide context.
That’s where the Colorado Health Institute’s latest project comes in. The Colorado Local Data Workbooks present county data, compared with statewide figures, to assist decision-making across the state. 

CHI has consolidated more than 50 data indicators, including demographics, insurance coverage, health care use and local health providers, for each county in the state. The workbooks include a page for each county, with county and statewide data published side-by-side for comparison and easy interpretation.

The accompanying brief delves deeper into the problems surrounding health workforce data that inspired this project, as well as guidance on how to use and interpret the numbers.  We invite you to look at your community and how it compares to the rest of the state.  As always, CHI is here to help you make sense of the data and assist you in answering pressing questions in your community.