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ON (AFP) – France is tops, and the United States dead last, in providing timely and effective healthcare to its citizens, according to a survey Tuesday of preventable deaths in 19 industrialized countries.
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The study by the Commonwealth Fund and published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs measured developed countries’ effectiveness at providing timely and effective healthcare.
The study, entitled “Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis,” was written by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It looked at death rates in subjects younger than 75 that could have been prevented by timely and effective medical care.
The researchers found that while most countries surveyed saw preventable deaths decline by an average of 16 percent, the United States saw only a four percent dip.
The non-profit Commonwealth Fund, which financed the study, expressed alarm at the findings.
“It is startling to see the US falling even farther behind on this crucial indicator of health system performance,” said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, who noted that “other countries are reducing these preventable deaths more rapidly, yet spending far less.”
The 19 countries, in order of best to worst, were: France, Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Some countries showed dramatic improvement in the periods studied — 1997 and 1998 and again between 2002 and 2003 — outpacing the United States, which showed only slight improvement.
White the United States ranked 15th of 19 between 1997-98, by 2002-03 it had fallen to last place.
“It is notable that all countries have improved substantially except the US,” said Ellen Nolte, lead author of the study.
Had the United States performed as well as any of the top three industrialized countries, there would have been 101,000 fewer deaths per year, the researchers said.
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Ok why is the U.S is last in this survey?
when there is so much money here in the U.S. I think there is something wrong when you come in last.
I hope this is more clear of question.
Is there a question?
Because?
because america sucks. we worry about other countries more than ourselves. I’m read to move to australia, they midn their own damn business down there!
I saw this as well. I’m not surprised. It’s about time that the truth is revealed because most people already know the truth. Some are just in perpetual denial because they are lazy and afraid of change. Change happens regardless, one way or another. I’d rather be aware of it then have it sneak up on me, essentially. The U.S. lags behind in math and science. There is a shortage of nurses and students are kept out of nursing school because there isn’t enough faculty to teach. Being short-sighted has its risks and costs. We need to start looking at what is really going on and stop be afraid of the truth. You can’t just leave it to someone else to take care of.
We need to be after our politicians. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If we bug them enough then maybe they will do something about it. Egos and arrogance need to be put aside. We need to look at the cold hard facts. We need to shut down our egos.
The problem with these such studies is this… We do not have a national health care system. The US Government doesn’t provide care, so obviously we will be dead last.
What do you think would happen if the government did offer this care? What does it cost to become a doctor? Now… once you have spent the money and the time to get your MD, imagine you are not an employee of the US Government. You don’t get to set your own price, and you aren’t going to make anywhere near what you need to pay off your loans…
So, less people become doctors.. Causing an even bigger problem. So, the government has to recruit and possibly even “draft” people to become docs. They attend basic training… not what you would normally find at good medical school.
But then wait. There is more! If the government is treating you, what is to stop them from telling you what you can or can’t eat? Don’t they then have to categorize you in terms of your risk? Sounds intrusive, doesn’t it? We fight to keep our medical records safe from companies that want to profile us for insurance purposes, but we want to go ahead and GIVE that same information to the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT???
We live in a market based society. Everyone is free to make money however they can (within legal reason)… Prices are high there is no doubt. But letting the government take it over is NOT the answer!
we may be last, but we are still the best.