Comparing Healthcare PerformanceThere are frequent articles blaring how poor the U.S. healthcare system is compared to other developed countries.
Read the following web site articles: America First? Not in Healthcare.
Not Even Close.Despite cutting-edge technology and government overspending, the U.S. approach to healthcare falls short when compared with other countries.
How the U.S. health-care system works – and how its failures are worsening the pandemic
And on and on. But how helpful is this? Or does the constant bombardment about the deficiencies in healthcare simply create an atmosphere of distrust and hopelessness? Perhaps even more important these articles do not contain rigorous research that supports actions. Be sure to look for assertions backed by rigorous research as the article below is.Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly
Measured five performance domains:
- Access to care
- Care process
- Administrative efficiency
- Equity
- Health care outcomes
For Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Using data for the performance domains, the following ranking was developed.
As you can see under overall rankings Norway, Netherlands, and Australia are the top three. The U.S. is last at 11.The report conclusions were:Four features distinguish top-performing countries from the United States: 1) they provide for universal coverage and remove cost barriers; 2) they invest in primary care systems to ensure that high-value services are equitably available in all communities to all people; 3) they reduce administrative burdens that divert time, efforts, and spending from health improvement efforts; and 4) they invest in social services, especially for children and working-age adults.Compare U.S. healthcare performance on a global scale.Include the following aspects in the assignment:
- Read the research article.
- Summarize the finding for each of the 5 performance domains:
- Access to care
- Care process
- Administrative efficiency
- Equity
- Health care outcomes
- Under the Discussion section (Achieving better health outcomes will require policy changes within and beyond health care) identify one policy change for each performance domain that you feel would have the greatest impact.
- Do you agree with the findings of the report? Why or why not?
- Cite any references. Proper grammar, sentence structure, and spelling are required. Use your own words. Copying and pasting are not allowed.
- Cite this article: Eric C. Schneider et al., Mirror, Mirror 2021 — Reflecting Poorly: Health Care in the U.S. Compared to Other High-Income Countries (Commonwealth Fund, Aug. 2021).
