US healthcare costs more, delivers less: study

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US healthcare costs more, delivers less: study

Thu Jul 17, 6:40 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States lags behind other industrialized

nations in the quality of its healthcare despite having the costliest

system in the world, according to a report released on Thursday.

The US healthcare system is plagued by inefficiency, inequality and an

incoherent national policy, said the report from the private

Commonwealth Fund foundation.

" The US spends twice per capita what other major industrialized

countries spend on health care, and costs continue to rise faster than

income, " said the report.

" We should expect a better return on this investment. "

The foundation used a 100-point scorecard to rate the system based on

37 categories, including access to health care, quality of care and

efficiency.

The US average came to 65, two points down from a previous measure in

2006. The score is compared to other countries and the best performing

US states, counties or hospitals.

The measures showed " that the US is losing ground in providing access

to care and has uneven health care quality " and also revealed " broad

evidence of inefficient and inequitable care, " it said.

The United States ranked last among 19 industrialized states when it

comes to preventing premature deaths from conditions such as heart

attacks that can be treated with timely, effective care, the report said.

Up to 101,000 less people would die prematurely if the US achieved the

lower mortality rates of top performing countries such as France or

Japan, it said.

Infant mortality rates also remain high in the United States compared

to other industrialized nations.

Access to health care was on the decline, with more Americans without

health insurance or without adequate insurance. In 2007, 75 million

working-age adults were either uninsured or underinsured, up from 61

million in 2003.

Americans reported more delays in securing appointments with doctors.

" In 2007, as in 2005, less than half of US adults with health problems

were able to get a rapid appointment with a physician when they were

sick, " it said.

The US scored poorly on efficiency, with patients subjected to

duplicate tests, unnecessary hospital admissions, high administrative

costs and outdated record keeping, it said.

Only 28 percent of US doctors use electronic medical records, compared

to nearly 100 percent in leading countries.

The report, based on data from US government agencies and other

sources, underlined some areas of progress, including improved safety

at hospitals and better control of diabetes and high blood pressure.

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