Americans Carry Two Burdens When it Comes to Healthcare
DL Ennis
August 11, 2006
The Burden of Poor Healthcare.
As indicated by a survey of almost 7,000 patients traversing Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the USA, not only do Americans pay much more for medical treatment than anyone else in the world but they also bear the brunt of the most medical errors.
Of the six nations surveyed the highest rate, one-third of U.S. patients having health problems, reported experiencing medical mistakes, medication errors, or inaccurate or delayed lab results. The United States stood out from the six with the highest error rates, most inefficient coordination of care, and the high out-of-pocket costs resulting in relinquished care.
Some 34 percent of the American patients surveyed experienced inefficient care and errors in testing. That 34 percent reported at least one of four types of errors: they believed they experienced a medical mistake in treatment or care, were given the wrong medication or dose, were given incorrect test results, or experienced delays in receiving abnormal test results.
This from Consumer Affairs online:
Patients receiving complex care may be at even higher risk of medical errors: the incidence of patient-reported errors rose sharply with the number of physicians seen. Despite studies showing patients value discussion about mistakes or errors, most patients (61% to 83%) in each country said the health care providers involved did not tell them about the mistakes.
The Financial Burden
Past surveys have shown that in the U.S. patients are weighed down by financial burdens. One–half of adults with health problems in the U.S. said they did not see a doctor when sick, did not get recommended treatment, or did not fill a prescription because of cost.
Notwithstanding the high rates of relinquished care, one-third of U.S. patients spent more than $1,000 out-of-pocket in the past year. By contrast, just 13 percent of U.K. adults reported not getting needed care because of costs, and two-thirds had no out-of-pocket costs.
Cathy Schoen, who is the senior vice president for The Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation in New York that commissioned the survey, said: ''What's striking is that we are clearly a world leader in how much we spend on health care, clearly, we should be doing better."
Other specialists agreed, saying the results offer the most recent evidence that the quality of care delivered by the U.S. healthcare system is seriously eroding even as health care costs skyrocket.
As indicated by a survey of almost 7,000 patients traversing Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the USA, not only do Americans pay much more for medical treatment than anyone else in the world but they also bear the brunt of the most medical errors.
Of the six nations surveyed the highest rate, one-third of U.S. patients having health problems, reported experiencing medical mistakes, medication errors, or inaccurate or delayed lab results. The United States stood out from the six with the highest error rates, most inefficient coordination of care, and the high out-of-pocket costs resulting in relinquished care.
Some 34 percent of the American patients surveyed experienced inefficient care and errors in testing. That 34 percent reported at least one of four types of errors: they believed they experienced a medical mistake in treatment or care, were given the wrong medication or dose, were given incorrect test results, or experienced delays in receiving abnormal test results.
This from Consumer Affairs online:
Patients receiving complex care may be at even higher risk of medical errors: the incidence of patient-reported errors rose sharply with the number of physicians seen. Despite studies showing patients value discussion about mistakes or errors, most patients (61% to 83%) in each country said the health care providers involved did not tell them about the mistakes.
The Financial Burden
Past surveys have shown that in the U.S. patients are weighed down by financial burdens. One–half of adults with health problems in the U.S. said they did not see a doctor when sick, did not get recommended treatment, or did not fill a prescription because of cost.
Notwithstanding the high rates of relinquished care, one-third of U.S. patients spent more than $1,000 out-of-pocket in the past year. By contrast, just 13 percent of U.K. adults reported not getting needed care because of costs, and two-thirds had no out-of-pocket costs.
Cathy Schoen, who is the senior vice president for The Commonwealth Fund, a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation in New York that commissioned the survey, said: ''What's striking is that we are clearly a world leader in how much we spend on health care, clearly, we should be doing better."
Other specialists agreed, saying the results offer the most recent evidence that the quality of care delivered by the U.S. healthcare system is seriously eroding even as health care costs skyrocket.
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