US health system ranks last compared to others

[CMF Newsman]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US health care system ranks last among other major rich countries for quality, access and efficiency, according to two studies released Tuesday by a health care think tank.

The studies by the Commonwealth Fund found that the United States, which has the most expensive health system in the world, underperforms consistently relative to other countries and differs most notably in the fact that Americans have no universal health insurance coverage.

"The United States stands out as the only nation in these studies that does not ensure access to health care through universal coverage and promotion of a 'medical home' for patients," said Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis.

"Our failure to ensure health insurance for all and encourage stable, long-term ties between physicians and patients shows in our poor performance on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and health outcomes."

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[Justin Thyme]

The Commonwealth Fund is a private, charitable organization who's mission is to improve healthcare access to the very young, the poor, and the elderly. It seems these two studies affirm the need for the Commonwealth Fund's mission.

[el Gusano]

I wonder why people from all over the world come here for medical care if it's so lousy?

[gridbug]

A lot of people leave this country for decent medical care too.

[traveler]

A lot of people leave this country for decent medical care too.

Primarily cosmetic and non-covered procedures as well as some routine procedures.

But for life threatening and/or advanced procedures the preferred country of choice for service is the United States.

[el Gusano]

I know people who go to Mexico for dental work.

Not for the quality, but for the price.

Does that mean they're better at dentistry than we are?

[legaltender]

"U.S. doctors are the least wired, with the lowest percentage using electronic medical records or receiving electronic updates on recommended treatments."

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18674951/

No excuse for that.

[stray]

Kinda stands to reason. Most US doctors went to real medical school while manhy foreign ones went to http://www.become_a_doctor_online.com.

[legaltender]

You need to stay current. It's a wired world.

You need electronic records on patients so you don't depend on their memory and have to start over each time with the history you scribbled long-hand. New capabilities to exchange information across the health care system saves lives. And certainly money.

[el Gusano]

I'm curious about the red tape legalities of doing electronic instead of paper.

[RuneDeer]

elgusano said:

I'm curious about the red tape legalities of doing electronic instead of paper.

Actually, that is the reason for HIPAA (the Healthcare Portability and Accountability Act of ?1999). It has evolved into being mostly about privacy these days, but it started with the desire to convert doctors and hospitals over to electronic records. Most healthcare consumers don't stay with one insurance company, because they don't stay with the same employer and have to start over from Square One with a new insurer and that usually means a new primary care physician. Everyone was getting sick of that, so legislation was produced that would make it easier for a patient to have their records transferred from Insurer A to Insurer B. But at the same time, there was concern about who would have access to online records, etc.

Too many entities have misunderstood the original intent of HIPAA, and a great many don't even KNOW what the acronym really stands for. At the hospital where I used to work, they had a workshop on it, and someone actually got up in front of the room and said "HIPPA (sic) is the Health Insurance Patient's Privacy Act." When she stepped off the podium, we saw someone else take her gently by the elbow and explain it to her -- the look on her face was priceless. But that's the reason why hospitals and doctors' offices are constantly experimenting with new ways to safeguard patients' privacy -- like everybody else in today's society, they're afraid of getting sued.

[el Gusano]

So, the problem seems to be bureaucratic red tape?

Seems like we need to revamp lawyers instead of doctors.

[traveler]

It is not so much that HIPAA of 1996 (not 1999) has evolved from its original intended purpose of information sharing to a focus on privacy as much as the practical reality that privacy concerns could not be met with current technologies and laws. The problem is not so much of moving one set of medical records from one provider to another or one insurance provider to another. The problem lies in the reality that medical records on an individual are disparate and multiple and sometimes cross huge geographical and technological boundaries. Medical records on an individual reside in a number of places from primary care offices to specialists to hospitals to emergency rooms, etc...basically any point at which an individual interfaces with the healthcare delivery system anywhere in the world. This poses a significant technology challenge for HIPAA as the concept is to pull all that information together in one digital environment, crossing multiple technology platforms, while at the same time protecting personal information.

The original intent still stands however. It is just a matter of time before technology actually evolves to meet the challenge. The technology is actually now available but not yet mainstreamed....but stay tuned.