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(Colorado News Connection) Overall, more Coloradans are getting the care they need to stay healthy compared to previous years, according to a new analysis of data in the Colorado All Payer Claims Database. 

Cari Frank - vice president for communications with the Center for Improving Value in Health Care - said the percentage of people accessing preventative services, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, has been on the rise between 2013 to 2021.

"Both of those have gone up over time," said Frank. "For breast cancer screenings, it went up by 5 percent. And then even more so for cervical cancer screenings, a 16 percent increase."

Frank said there's still more work to do. 

The number of adults receiving primary care rose slightly, from 75 percent to 77 percent. But the number of kids seeing a primary care provider dropped from 82 percent to 78 percent. 

Just over half of Coloradans who need cervical cancer screenings got one, and just 62 percent were screened for breast cancer.

Paying out of pocket costs, not being able to take time off work and a lack of reliable transportation are some of the barriers to accessing preventative care. 

Frank said people in rural communities frequently have to travel hundreds of miles to find a facility that can perform mammograms, ultrasounds or other imaging services.

"We do see lower rates of women in rural areas receiving these screenings," said Frank. "And there's just a lack of providers in general, I think it's even more challenging for rural areas."

Forty percent of people who got care for a mental health crisis at an emergency room are still not getting follow up care within the ideal 7 day timeline. 

But Frank noted that the number of people who got follow-up care within 30 days rose by nearly 50 percent.

"If you're going to the emergency department for a mental health related reason, you would want to get follow-up care pretty quickly right after that," said Frank. "We have made a lot of good headway in that area."