Health Insurance

Health insurance comparison

United States has the most costly health system in the world . Despite this fact , this system is unable to compete with the health systems of other countries on most of the dimensions of performance . As per the study the data is collected from the followings

Patients of different countries

Information 's from the primary care physicians about medical practices

Views of the countries health system from the general masses

The comparison has been done between the three countries . It includes

United Kingdom

Canada , and

United States

p The United States health care system ranked last when compared with the health system of these countries . The different dimensions of performance which were the basis of comparison includes

Quality

Access

Efficiency

Equity , and

Healthy lives

Different dimensions of performance compared

Quality

The Quality dimension includes right /effective care , safe care coordinated care and patient centered care . On comparison the United States fares best on provision and receipt of preventive care . But as far as the chronic care management , safe care , coordinated and patient centered care is concerned it is scores the last between the three countries compared . The other two countries scores better in using information technology and a team approach to manage chronic conditions and coordinate care . The information technology in these developed countries enhances the ability of the physicians to identify and monitor patients with chronic conditions . Nurses in these countries also help their patients in their chronic diseases , which is financed by the government

Access

People in the United States prefer

Access : Not surprising - given the absence of universal coverage - people in the U .S . go without needed health care because of cost more often than people do in the other countries . Americans were the most likely to say they had access problems related to cost , but if insured patients in the U .S . have rapid access to specialized health care services . In other countries , like the U .K and Canada , patients have little to no financial burden , but experience long wait times for such specialized services . The U .S . and Canada rank lowest on the prompt accessibility of appointments with physicians , with patients more likely to report waiting six or more days for an appointment when needing care Germany scores well on patients ' perceptions of access to care on nights and weekends and on the ability of primary care practices to make arrangements for patients to receive care when the office is closed Overall , Germany ranks first on access

Efficiency : On indicators of efficiency , the U .S . ranks last among the six countries , with the U .K . and New Zealand ranking first and second respectively . The U .S . has poor performance on measures of national health expenditures and administrative costs as well as on measures of the use of information technology and multidisciplinary teams . Also , of sicker respondents who visited the emergency room , those in Germany and New Zealand are less likely to have done so for a condition that could have been treated by a...