LIR - comparison of US and other countries' healthcare outcomes:
Posted by
Roger More (aka RogerMore)
Dec 16 '09, 11:36
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From an OECD statement to the Senate Special Committee on Ageing (the spending charts Dano refers to are on pages 1 and 2:
From page 5:
"For all its spending, the US has lower life expectancy than most OECD countries (78.1; average is 79.1), and is below average on a wide range of other measures, including infant mortality, potential years of life lost, amenable mortality, and so on. It is true, however, that these �aggregate� measures are not good measures of the effects of health spending on outcomes, as many other factors determine mortality.
There are many good things to say about the quality of the US health system. It delivers care in a timely manner � waiting lists are unknown, unlike in many OECD countries. There is a good deal of choice in the system, both in health care providers and, to some extent, the package of health insurance. The system delivers new products to consumers more quickly than in any other country. The United States is the major innovator, both in medical products and procedures. However, perhaps the best, but too-often neglected, way of assessing the performance of the system is to look in detail at the quality of care. Which areas of the healthcare system are providing value-for-money and which show opportunities for performance improvement? Quality of care, or the degree to which care is delivered in accordance with
established standards and optimal outcomes, is one of the key dimensions of value.
The OECD�s Health Care Quality Indicators project (HCQI) is developing a set of quality indicators at the healthcare systems level, and 23 indicators will be presented in the forthcoming edition of Health at a Glance 2009. These indicators cover key healthcare needs, all major healthcare services, and most major disease areas. The United States stands out as performing very well in the area of cancer care, achieving higher rates of screening and survival from different types of cancer than most other OECD countries (Charts 4 and 5). The United States does not do well in preventing costly hospital admissions for chronic conditions, such as asthma or complications from diabetes, which should normally be managed through proper primary care (Charts 6 and 7)."
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