When in doubt, overtest and overtreat
Too Much Medical Care?
By TARA PARKER-POPE, NYT
A few years ago, my daughter sprained her ankle at dance camp. What happened next offers a glimpse into some of the problems in our nation's health care system.
For years, we've been hearing that the United States spends more on health care than any other country, even as it lags far behind other countries in terms of quality of care.
The numbers are staggering. Health spending in the United States neared $2.6 trillion in 2010 - that's 10 times the $256 billion spent in 1980. The Institute of Medicine estimates that in 2009, the most recent year for which data are available, the country spent about $210 billion on unnecessary medical services.
Broken down, this means that the United States spends about $8,000 per person annually on health care - that's about 50 percent more than Norway and Switzerland. In the United States, hospital stays are far more expensive than those in other countries, averaging about $18,000 per discharge, compared with less than $10,000 in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany.
(More here.)
A few years ago, my daughter sprained her ankle at dance camp. What happened next offers a glimpse into some of the problems in our nation's health care system.
For years, we've been hearing that the United States spends more on health care than any other country, even as it lags far behind other countries in terms of quality of care.
The numbers are staggering. Health spending in the United States neared $2.6 trillion in 2010 - that's 10 times the $256 billion spent in 1980. The Institute of Medicine estimates that in 2009, the most recent year for which data are available, the country spent about $210 billion on unnecessary medical services.
Broken down, this means that the United States spends about $8,000 per person annually on health care - that's about 50 percent more than Norway and Switzerland. In the United States, hospital stays are far more expensive than those in other countries, averaging about $18,000 per discharge, compared with less than $10,000 in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany.
(More here.)
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