1) What is access to care? Access to care can be defined as the ability to obtain affordable, convenient, acceptable, effective and, above all, necessary health assistance at the right time. According to Healthy People 2020, access to care is the appropriate use of health care equipment that allows a person to achieve the highest possible state of health. This includes entering a health care system, accessing appropriate locations offering needed services, and contacting a trusted health care provider (“Access,” 2013). Access to care includes five measures such as availability, accessibility, accommodation, affordability and acceptability. This means that acceptable and affordable health services must be accessible to people who need them when necessary. Access to care is different depending on the type of patient (Shi and Singh, 2008, p. 508-509). For example, access to health services is different for a disabled person and for a working person. A client with a disability may have to worry about transportation and an active person may think about getting an appointment on their day off.2). How does the availability of services affect access to care? Availability is a general term that refers to the ability of health services to meet customer needs. Clients have varied needs regarding the availability of health services. Various issues related to availability include the availability of primary and preventive services, the availability of supports such as transportation, interpretation and social services, the availability of health specialists and/or the availability of appointments. when needed. Availability of care may also depend on income, insurance, and geographic differences. For example, rural Americans have...... middle of paper ...... numerous demographic surveys to assess equity of access to health care services (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 510 -512).ReferencesAccess to Health Services. (2013). Accessed November 25, 2013, from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=1Chapter 9. Access to Health Care: National Health Care Quality Report, 2011. (2011) . Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqr11/chap9.htmlKey facts about the uninsured population. (2013). Retrieved October 28, 2013 from http://kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/ Shi, L. and Singh, DA (2008). Providing Health Care in America: A Systems Approach (4th ed.). [Adobe Digital Editions]. Retrieved from http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/jonesandbartlett/2008/delivering-health-care-in-america_-a-systems-approach_ebook_4e.php