Commonwealth Fund Report: US Fares Poorly on Healthcare Quality Measures
A report released on Thursday by non-profit Commonwealth Fund indicates that the United States fails on most measures of health care quality, with Americans waiting longer to see doctors and more likely to die of preventable or treatable illnesses than people in other industrialized countries.
Americans spend money on wasteful administrative costs, illnesses caused by medical error and inefficient use of time, the report concluded.
"We lead the world in spending. We should be expecting much more in return," Commonwealth Fund senior vice president Cathy Schoen told reporters.
The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation, created a 100-point scorecard using 37 indicators such as health outcomes, quality, access and efficiency.
They compare the U.S. average on these to the best performing states, counties or hospitals, and to other countries. The United States scored 65 -- two points lower than in 2006.
One key measure is prevention of premature deaths from easily treated conditions such as asthma and heart attacks.
The United States fell from 15th to last among 19 industrialized nations on this measure from 2006 to 2008. The report estimated the U.S. health care system could save 100,000 lives if it matched Japan or France, the top performers.
Infant mortality remains high in the United States, with a rate of 7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 2.8 per 1,000 in Japan and 3.1 in Sweden.
Published on July 17, 2008
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