Earlier this year, the Associated Press and other popular news agencies reported on the disturbing results of a study published in the March 16, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that concluded that Americans receive, on average, only 55% of the care that they should receive at any given time 1,2. This study evaluated the care that individuals, from a wide variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds, receive in a variety of different healthcare settings (clinic, hospital, etc.) here in the U.S. The authors came to a conclusion that was, to me, very startling; but, as it turns out, this is not really new information.
With some minor variation across the boards, people were either under or over treated, for a variety of conditions ranging from alcohol dependence to urinary tract infection. This means that, although we have very well defined screening, diagnostic, and treatment protocols, nearly half of the time these protocols were not followed by physicians, other health care personnel, or the institutions in which they work.
While the Associated Press story decried this as "woefully mediocre... care," and the New England Journal authors concluded that the "problems with the quality of [health] care," are "widespread and systemic," I personally see this as an outright tragedy. Although we spend more money on health care than any other nation, and our massive research efforts have well defined the ideal mechanisms to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease, we are still unable to provide our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, husbands and wives, with the care that they all pay for, deserve, and that is available. I find the idea repellant that people's quality and duration of life is routinely compromised in this manner.
