The 3.5 million Americans living in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico do not have access to a health care system considered standard in the rest of the nation. News reports in recent years describe hospitals laying off employees and closing wings, medical centers suspending or limiting health care services such as operating room hours, and air ambulance suppliers suspending services. Concerns about the public health infrastructure in Puerto Rico were heightened this year after outbreaks of Zika virus in the area. To better understand the state of health care in Puerto Rico, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) supported an environmental scan and site visit, conducted an analysis of available data, and synthesized information and observations across U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) operating and staff divisions that work most closely with the Commonwealth. Despite limited data availability, we found trends that raise concerns about the Puerto Rico health care system infrastructure and workforce, prevalence of certain chronic diseases, and metrics of access to services and quality of care. The system shows some indications of stability, but evidence regarding a declining physician workforce, overcrowded hospitals with emergency department patients waiting nearly 13 hours from arrival to admission, and higher rates of self-reported fair or poor health suggest a need for attention.
* ASPE thanks the various program offices across the Department that reviewed and provided input on this brief, especially the Department’s Region 2 Office.
"PuertoRico_Assessment.pdf" (pdf, 785.63Kb)
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