CDC reports on use of certain preventive health services before ACA

To track national efforts to improve access to preventive services, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides baseline data on the use of nine preventive services for adults prior to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The services are: aspirin and other antiplatelet therapy; hypertension management; lipid management; diabetes management; tobacco cessation; breast cancer screening; colorectal cancer screening; HIV screening; and flu vaccination.

Among other findings, CDC said 47% of patients with heart disease were prescribed the recommended daily use of aspirin; 44% of adults with high blood pressure and 32% of adults with high cholesterol had it under control; and 8% of adult tobacco users were proscribed smoking cessation medication.