Geographic access to hospital care: a 30-minute travel time standard.

A review of literature focusing upon geographic accessibility to health facilities indicates that while distance has been the traditional measure, travel time may now be a more meaningful indicator. Applying a 30-minute travel time standard to general hospitals, as advocated by various health plans, this paper illustrates an approach to the determination of geographic accessibility through a combination of a travel time file and sociodemographic profiles. Focusing upon all residents of West Virginia, the study identifies the number and characteristics of persons who reside within and beyond the 30-minute standard. More than 10 per cent of the entire population and nearly 20 per cent of the rural residents live in areas which are, by this standard, inaccessible to general hospitals. The "inaccessible" populations are characterized as having sociodemographic attributes associated with high medical needs. Other applications of travel time data are discussed.