Benefits Of The Best Healthcare Essay

The U.S. Health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance.” (WHO, 2000, p. 1) Progression in the United States has not kept up with the advances in other wealthy nations dealing with the population health. Disease and chronic disability report almost 50% of America health problem (JAMA, 2013).

The United States has a very unique healthcare system. Does this mean that we are simply leagues ahead of the rest of the world in healthcare? Unfortunately, not at all. The ideal of American exceptionalism is apt to describe our healthcare system. That is, our current system is exceptionally bad. Per capita, the United States spends “twice the average of other developed countries” on healthcare ("United States Per Capita Healthcare Spending Is More Than Twice The Average Of Other Developed Countries"). Yet, in the World Health Organization’s ranking of healthcare systems by nation, the U.S. comes in at a dismal 37th place, despite spending the most per person of any country on Earth on healthcare ("World Health Organization’s Ranking of the World’s Health Systems").

Many people believe that the current of health care in the United States is the best health care in the world however it has major shortcomings that has become more visible for the whole world to see. The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world based on health expenditure per capita and on

Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel.

According to Schroeder “ the United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, but ranks poorly on every measure of health status” ( Schroeder,1). Schroeder discussed the two main reasons why the United States ranks so poorly on every measure of the health system. One of the reasons for the low ranking in the American health system is “the pathways to better health do not generally depend on better health care” (Schroeder, 1); the fact that we have access to advance tools and technologies in our health care system does not necessary mean that we are healthier than other countries. Determinants such as behaviors patterns, environmental exposures and social circumstances also greatly influence our health.

Health care costs are a longstanding concern to policymakers. For years, health care spending has been rising faster than the rate of economic growth, raising the question of what factors are responsible for rising health care costs. This paper explores published articles that report results from research conducted on technological innovations in health care and its relation to rising health care costs. The cost increases have a significant effect on households, businesses, and government programs. Health care experts indicates the development and diffusion of medical technology as primary factors in explaining the persistent

Contrary to what many people believe, America’s health status is not quite “up-to-par,” to say the least. Over forty-seven million people in the United States lack health insurance; that is more than 15% of our nation’s population! At first this disturbing truth seems impossible to believe, being as America is one of the most technologically advanced and economically developed countries in the world. “We spend trillions of dollars per year on medical care. That’s nearly half of all the health dollars spent in the world. But we’ve seen our statistics. We live shorter, often sicker lives than almost every other industrialized nation. “We rank 30th in [global] life expectancy” (Adelman 2008). Knowing this brings rise to the question: why are

For example an x-ray machine could be leased and the organization would a fee depending on how many x-rays they take per month or year.

Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel.Health care costs are far higher in the United States than in any other advanced nation, whether measured in total dollars spent, as a percentage of the economy, or on a per capita basis. And health costs here have been rising significantly faster

With these outstanding evidences the Commonwealth Fund placed United States last in terms of overall health system ranking measured by different categories of access to care, equity, quality, efficiency and healthy lives compared to other developed countries. Among those rank categories, our health system is specifically placed last in access to care and efficiency. 37% of the adults in United States reported that they did not receive the recommended treatment, surgery or follow up care due to high cost. 40% of adults who had visited emergency room reported that they could have instead just visited a regular doctor if it was available. U.S. was also ranked last in infant mortality rate and amount of deaths preventable through timely access to healthcare.

What does America have to show for all the money it is spending on health care? It wouldn’t be unreasonable to speculate that the U. S. would have the lowest infant mortality, the highest life expectancy, and the most efficient health care in the world. Unfortunately, however, that is not the case. The United States according to the same article, ranks 46th out of 48th in health care efficiency, Serbia and Brazil are the only two ranking lower. Infant mortality and life expectancy in the United States rank 167thand 44th out of 224 respectivelyaccording to the CIA World Factbook (2015). Additionally, approximately 15 percent of people in the U.S. are still uninsured. The return on investment in health care needs to have better results; a system that provides the highest quality care that leaves no one out.

According to data presented by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the US health care cost exceeded $ 8,000 per capita, in 2010, comparing to the next most expensive system (Norway) $5,000 per capita (OECD Health Data, 2012). Despite being the most expensive system in the word, US healthcare system has failed on many areas of performance and quality. According to OECD data, US has much lower life expectancy than other industrialized countries, also the infant mortality rate is higher than those countries. Moreover, the US is the only industrialized country that does not provide its citizens a protection of a universal health care coverage.

Going back hundreds of years, we can trace the history of health care. Although it has evolved over the years, it all has a common goal; to heal those who are ill. Technology is one of the major evolutions and now plays a big role in the health care system. It helps patients to be more involved with their healthcare. They can make appointments, follow up on test results, and contact their doctors. Back then, they didn’t even have all the medicine we have now, let alone the technology. We can only imagine what is in store for the future.

Medical technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases or medical conditions that affect humans. This may included but not limited too, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical equipment. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and reductions in hospital stays and rehabilitation times. Recent advances in medical technology have also focused on cost reduction. Medical technology may include medical devices, information technology, biotech, and healthcare services. The impacts of medical technology may involve social and ethical issues. For example physicians may seek objective information from technology rather than listening to subjective patient reports. A major contributor of healthcare expenditure in America is the advancement of medical technology. According to several studies it is shown that there is a correlation between the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and money allocated to healthcare. One of the leading theories is that medical technology is growing faster than expected.

Many would argue that here, in the United States, we have the best healthcare in the world. We benefit from the most up to date medical technologies, medications, and services. People come from every corner of the world to take advantage of our top notch physicians and facilities. But is this reputation warranted, and if so, at what cost? The average annual cost per US resident is $7,681; this comprises 16.2% of our gross domestic product. These costs rank us among the highest of industrialized nations (Lundy, 2010). Does this high expenditure equate to better outcomes? According to the National Scorecard on US Health System Performance (2008), the US received a 65 out of 100 possible points.