Americans are accustomed to anecdotal evidence of the health care crisis. Yet, personal or local stories do not provide a comprehensive nationwide picture of our access to health care. Now, this book offers the long-awaited health equivalent of national economic indicators. This useful volume defines a set of national objectives and identifies indicatorsâ€"measures of utilization and outcomeâ€"that can "sense" when and where problems occur in accessing specific health care services. Using the indicators, the committee presents significant conclusions about the situation today, examining the relationships between access to care and factors such as income, race, ethnic origin, and location. The committee offers recommendations to federal, state, and local agencies for improving data collection and monitoring. This highly readable and well-organized volume will be essential for policymakers, public health officials, insurance companies, hospitals, physicians and nurses, and interested individuals.

Contents: electronic government -- "serving the public on its terms" (electronic benefits transfer; environmental information; wireless public safety network; electronic export assistance; electronic safety, health assistance resource; criminal justice needs; employer tax filing and reporting; support international trade and much more); support mechanisms -- "the tools to operate an electronic government" (guarantee privacy and security; increase productivity of fed. workers; enhance info. technology learning, etc.); appendices (Executive Order 13011, Fed. Info. Technology; summary of action items, etc.).