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Patient Access to Care

Meaning

Patient access to care is a multidimensional concept that quantifies the ease and opportunity with which individuals can obtain necessary and appropriate healthcare services, including screening, diagnosis, and long-term management for complex hormonal conditions. This critical measure encompasses various barriers, including financial affordability, geographic proximity, temporal availability, and cultural competence of the care system. Optimizing patient access is a paramount public health goal to ensure equitable and timely health outcomes in the endocrine space.