Texas Health Atlas

With almost two hundred pages of original demographic and health-related maps that display county-by-county and regional information covering everything from the distribution of pharmacies, trauma centers, and emergency rooms to the number of lung, colon, and breast cancer patients in major metropolitan areas (by ZIP code), the Texas Health Atlas provides an indispensable tool for healthcare providers and planners, risk managers, public officials and policymakers, public health workers, and university researchers and students.  The authors have mined an immense array of previously scattered information and created a singular resource that provides a geographical perspective on the state’s health care system, medical services, insidious diseases, harmful behaviors, and health disparities among various segments of its population. At a time when nearly a quarter of the 25 million people who live in Texas do not have health insurance—giving Texas the highest uninsured rate of any state—and as policymakers and legislators struggle with rising costs, an aging citizenry, and the prospect of more uncertainties for the healthcare system in the years ahead, the need for quick access to accurate information is greater than ever. Texas Health Atlas provides valuable insights that can guide the decisions needed for the state’s economic wellbeing and the improved health of its citizens.