AMERICAN MEDICINE/ LOUSY CARE?

________(2006) BUSINESS WEEK/ 3/27/ 9

American medicine is the most costly system among industrial or post industrial nations. In a recent issue of the prestigious NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE indicates that patients receive about 55% of the care that they paid for. The study was done by RAND and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. There is not much difference between the well heeled and the poor. Further, no difference between insured and uninsured. It is not a good delivery system across the board.

The study is based on 7,000 patients from 12 different cities 1996 to 2000. Scores were based on 439 quality indicators for acute, chronic, and preventive care.

America still has excellent medical doctors so there is something going wrong in the delivery system. A number of past studies indicate that poor, minority, and uninsured are quickly dumped or provided with inferior treatment. However, this is finding is new.