U.S. ranks last among industrialized nations in health care quality, report says

When it comes to health care, Americans spend the most but get the least when compared to six other industrialized nations, according to a new report. Americans spend more than twice as much per capita as some peer nations, but rank bottom of the barrel when it comes to the fair and universal delivery of quality health care services, according to researchers with the Commonwealth Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based private foundation focused on improving health care. The report compared the American health care system with those of Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The United States was ranked last overall; the Netherlands was ranked first.

According to the report, The United States spends $7,290 per person each year on health care. That's nearly three times as much as is spent each year in New Zealand, which spends the least. It's also close to twice as much as Canadians spend on health care each year. And while lowering overall health care costs was an important goal of health reform, the Commonwealth Fund study also shows that money alone does not improve health care quality. The United States ranked last or next to last in all categories, and researchers said Americans scored especially poorly on measures of access, efficiency, equity and long, healthy and productive lives.

The study also does, or should, thwart one of the most common arguments used against comprehensive change of our health care system, namely: "we may be expensive and inefficient, but you should see how bad it is in other countries." That may hold true when the powerhouse United States is compared to developing countries, but the Commonwealth Funds study certainly shows it doesn't hold true when we are compared to other industrialized countries. Too often, according to the study, Americans receive the wrong dose or medication, use emergency rooms for non emergencies, go without needed care due to cost or receive a test result that is wrong. Also, Americans do not enjoy the same healthy longevity when compared to the other countries in the study. Infant mortality and disease later in life may be the culprits there.

Authors of the study noted that the United States' ranking in the study may inch forward once the major elements of health reform are enacted in 2014. Those provisions especially work toward improving access to health care, including the prohibition against insurance companies dropping coverage for pre-existing conditions. Other elements of health reform that could improve Americans' standing on the health quality report in future years include an emphasis on electronic medical records, which could cut down on inefficiencies and duplicative testing, as well as the use of emergency rooms are primary care facilities.

What do you think of the study? More importantly, what do you think of the quality and quantity of health care services that you receive, and does your experience differ from the health care experiences of others you know? Let us know.

Photo Credit: PS-OV-ART Patty Sue O'Hair-Vicknair