U.S. HEALTCARE EARNS a D MINUS

Dated article from Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH.  July 26, 2000

The fact is that the US population does not have anywhere near the best health in the world.  Of 13 countries in a recent comparison, the United States ranks an average of 12^th (second from the bottom) for 16 available health indicators.  Countries in order of their average ranking on the health indicators (with the first being the best) are Japan, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, the United States, and Germany.  Rankings of the United States on the separate indicators are:

  Ø 13^th (last) for low-birth-weight percentages.

  Ø 13^th for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall.

  Ø 11^th for post-neonatal mortality.

  Ø 13^th for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes)

  Ø 11^th for life expectancy at 1 year for females, 12^th for males.

  Ø 10^th for life expectancy at 15 years for females, 12^th for males.

  Ø 10^th for life expectancy at 40 years for female, 9^th for males.

  Ø 7^th for life expectancy at 65 years for females, 7^th for males.

  Ø 3^rd for life expectancy at 80 years for females, 3^rd for males.

  Ø 10^th for age-adjusted mortality.

Okay, so it’s not good news if you live in the United States.  A World Health Organization report found that the United States ranked 15^th among 25 industrialized countries.  Could that figure be more condemning?  And who usually gets the blame for the country’s poor performance?  Healthcare practioners?  Nope.  Are you kidding?  Doctors and nurses and medical personnel get most of the praise.  Not, it’s the public that behaves badly and that’s why the US ranks 15 out of 25.  “Common explanations for this poor performance fail to implicate the health system.  The perception is that the American public “behaves badly” by smoking, drinking, and perpetrating violence.  The data show otherwise, at least relatively.  The proportion of females who smoke ranges from 14% in Japan to 41% in Denmark; in the United States, it is 24% (fifth best).  For males, the range is from 26% in Sweden to 61% in Japan; it is 28% in the United States (third best).” 

via Jon Rappoport