Poll shows how many Virginians are unhappy with current healthare system

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The American Academy of Physician Associates, or AAPA, did a poll to see what Americans think about the current healthcare system.

The Harris Poll looks at patient needs by state, and found over 1-in-3 Virginians give the current system a failing grade.

“What I think is really concerning is it’s not just one component of healthcare, you know, where people are saying that this is a challenge for them in Virginia, it’s across the board,” Amanda Miller said.

Miller is a physician assistant. She says it’s, in large part, due to a lack of trust.

“Patients have this distrust, and they develop it for a multitude of reasons, whether that’s access to care, long appointment, wait times the cost, all things that we’re looking at, through this Harris Poll, how they affect patients and what we as PA’s can do about it,” Miller said.

According to the report, affordability and appointment wait times were some of the two biggest barriers for Virginians receiving care.

This came as a surprise to Miller given the states reputation.

“Virginia overall tends to try and be forward and progressive with access to care, and with getting patients the resources that they need,” Miller said. “So I found it interesting that it was up 45% of patients decided to either skip or withhold from obtaining further health care for one to two years.”

Miller says this could lead to much larger issues for patients skipping out on care.

“Those are the other aspects of this that we want as physician assistants to try and eliminate from a patient,” Miller said. “It’s not just all, you know, dollars and cents here but what does that mental toll take on a patient when they can’t receive the care that they need?”

And as a PA, Miller wants to rebuild that connection with patients so they can feel their health is in good hands.

“When you can have multiple providers that are looking at your case or being involved. You have different heads thinking together,” Miller said. “That’s where we can really optimize patient care and provide, you know, Virginians with what they deserve, which is ultimately cost affordable, and excellent patient care.”

For the full report click here.

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