By Colleen Quinn / State House New Service
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Massachusetts retained its status as the most violent state in the Northeast, according to a report released Tuesday morning by public health advocates and based on statistics compiled by the FBI.
In its biennial report that studies health care trends in the state, the Massachusetts Health Council said approximately 30,000 violent crimes were committed in Massachusetts in 2009 or 456 violent crimes per 100,000 people, making it the highest per capita crime rate in the Northeast.
The report looked at the six New England states, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The violent crimes include murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault.
While the rates of some crimes remained the same, rape and attempted rape rose 27 percent from 2008-2009 in Massachusetts, the report found.
“We really need to do something about violence,” said Susan Servais, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Council, a non-profit, non-partisan statewide organization of more than 150 governmental and voluntary agencies.
According to the report, violent crime in Massachusetts rose by less than 1 percent over 2008.
Aggravated assault, with 20,836 incidents, occurred at a rate of 316 per 100,000 residents in 2009, the highest rate of any state in the region and 20 percent higher than the U.S. in total. The report cited 172 cases of murder or manslaughter, a 2.2 percent increase over 2008 but lower than the regional and the U.S. rates for those categories.
Robbery incidents totaled 7,427, at a rate of 113 per 100,000, a 4.2 percent increase over 2008, and were also below the regional rate. Approximately 780 gunshot wounds, an average of 15 a week, and 1,332 sharp instrument wounds assaults were reported by hospital emergency departments in the state last year.
The report outlines some of the reasons for the uptick in violence, pointing to a decrease in state funds for violence prevention programs and coalitions that work with at-risk young adults. Servais said the council will urge legislators to replace funds and create policies to help human service organizations that work to reduce violence.
“A lot of these coalitions have disappeared. We need to rebuild these coalitions, work with people in the communities,” Servais said.
The council, along with members of the legislature, will present the report’s findings Tuesday morning in the State House. The report, entitled “Common Health for the Commonwealth,” tracks public health problems, including issues of poverty, violence and education that affect residents’ health.
The report also found a growing shortage of primary care physicians makes it tougher for Massachusetts residents to see a doctor, often forcing them into emergency rooms for care.
Physician shortages in community hospitals were reported in three specialties, internal medicine, family medicine and general surgery. Wait times to see a primary care doctor or general surgeon are a growing problem, according to the report. Part of the problem adding to wait times is only 44 percent of internal medicine physicians accept new patients, compared to 58 percent in 2008, the report states.
The shortage contributes to patients seeking care in emergency rooms, Servais said. In 2009, emergency room doctors reported 40 percent more patient visits than the average ER physician around the United States. The American Hospital Association found the number of emergency outpatient visits per 1,000 residents was 19 percent higher in the commonwealth than the rest of the country, the report found.
“The state has done such a great job with health care reform,” Servais said. “But if residents can’t get into to see a doctor, they are going to go to the emergency room.”
Approximately 10 percent of those surveyed for the report said they did not have a personal health care provider, and 7 percent said they could not afford to see a doctor. The gap widened among different races and ethnic groups, with 8 percent of whites, 17 percent of blacks, 15 percent of Asians, and 23 percent of Hispanics saying they did not have a personal doctor.
Children fared better than adults on access to health care, with nearly all children, regardless of race, ethnicity or family income, seeing a doctor regularly.
To solve the doctor shortage, the state needs to be a more desirable place for physicians to practice, Servais said, “so we don’t have statistics like only 44 percent of Massachusetts primary care physicians are accepting new patients.”
“We need to do whatever we can to draw physicians into the state, but we also need to keep physicians from leaving the state,” she said.
The group plans to ask state lawmakers to file legislation to reform malpractice claims when legislators possibly take up health care payment reforms during the next legislative session.
“We need to work collaboratively to ease the burden on physicians,” Servais said. “Professional liability must be addressed, especially within payment reforms. We need to do something about malpractice claims, because in order to protect themselves, doctors are doing lots of tests trying to protect themselves from unreasonable lawsuits.”
Other findings in the report:
In its biennial report that studies health care trends in the state, the Massachusetts Health Council said approximately 30,000 violent crimes were committed in Massachusetts in 2009 or 456 violent crimes per 100,000 people, making it the highest per capita crime rate in the Northeast.
The report looked at the six New England states, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The violent crimes include murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault.
While the rates of some crimes remained the same, rape and attempted rape rose 27 percent from 2008-2009 in Massachusetts, the report found.
“We really need to do something about violence,” said Susan Servais, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Council, a non-profit, non-partisan statewide organization of more than 150 governmental and voluntary agencies.
According to the report, violent crime in Massachusetts rose by less than 1 percent over 2008.
Aggravated assault, with 20,836 incidents, occurred at a rate of 316 per 100,000 residents in 2009, the highest rate of any state in the region and 20 percent higher than the U.S. in total. The report cited 172 cases of murder or manslaughter, a 2.2 percent increase over 2008 but lower than the regional and the U.S. rates for those categories.
Robbery incidents totaled 7,427, at a rate of 113 per 100,000, a 4.2 percent increase over 2008, and were also below the regional rate. Approximately 780 gunshot wounds, an average of 15 a week, and 1,332 sharp instrument wounds assaults were reported by hospital emergency departments in the state last year.
The report outlines some of the reasons for the uptick in violence, pointing to a decrease in state funds for violence prevention programs and coalitions that work with at-risk young adults. Servais said the council will urge legislators to replace funds and create policies to help human service organizations that work to reduce violence.
“A lot of these coalitions have disappeared. We need to rebuild these coalitions, work with people in the communities,” Servais said.
The council, along with members of the legislature, will present the report’s findings Tuesday morning in the State House. The report, entitled “Common Health for the Commonwealth,” tracks public health problems, including issues of poverty, violence and education that affect residents’ health.
The report also found a growing shortage of primary care physicians makes it tougher for Massachusetts residents to see a doctor, often forcing them into emergency rooms for care.
Physician shortages in community hospitals were reported in three specialties, internal medicine, family medicine and general surgery. Wait times to see a primary care doctor or general surgeon are a growing problem, according to the report. Part of the problem adding to wait times is only 44 percent of internal medicine physicians accept new patients, compared to 58 percent in 2008, the report states.
The shortage contributes to patients seeking care in emergency rooms, Servais said. In 2009, emergency room doctors reported 40 percent more patient visits than the average ER physician around the United States. The American Hospital Association found the number of emergency outpatient visits per 1,000 residents was 19 percent higher in the commonwealth than the rest of the country, the report found.
“The state has done such a great job with health care reform,” Servais said. “But if residents can’t get into to see a doctor, they are going to go to the emergency room.”
Approximately 10 percent of those surveyed for the report said they did not have a personal health care provider, and 7 percent said they could not afford to see a doctor. The gap widened among different races and ethnic groups, with 8 percent of whites, 17 percent of blacks, 15 percent of Asians, and 23 percent of Hispanics saying they did not have a personal doctor.
Children fared better than adults on access to health care, with nearly all children, regardless of race, ethnicity or family income, seeing a doctor regularly.
To solve the doctor shortage, the state needs to be a more desirable place for physicians to practice, Servais said, “so we don’t have statistics like only 44 percent of Massachusetts primary care physicians are accepting new patients.”
“We need to do whatever we can to draw physicians into the state, but we also need to keep physicians from leaving the state,” she said.
The group plans to ask state lawmakers to file legislation to reform malpractice claims when legislators possibly take up health care payment reforms during the next legislative session.
“We need to work collaboratively to ease the burden on physicians,” Servais said. “Professional liability must be addressed, especially within payment reforms. We need to do something about malpractice claims, because in order to protect themselves, doctors are doing lots of tests trying to protect themselves from unreasonable lawsuits.”
Other findings in the report:
- Massachusetts remains ahead of the nation in preventive screenings. The state reported the best cancer screening rates in the U.S. with 85 percent of women age 40 or older reporting they had a mammogram in the past two years compared to 76 percent nationally. Of those 50 years or older, approximately 64 percent reported they had colonoscopy in the past five years, compared to 52 percent nationally. Rates of prostate cancer screening and flu vaccination were also high in MA compared to national averages.
- Smoking, new cases of HIV/AIDS and the high school drop-out rate are all declining.
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