skippy the bush kangaroo

Thursday, November 03, 2005

we're a sitting duck when the avian flu comes along

americans pay more when they get sick than people in other western nations and receive more confused, error-prone treatment, according to the largest survey to compare u.s. health care with other nations.

the survey of nearly 7,000 sick adults in the united states, australia, canada, new zealand, britain and germany found americans were the most likely to pay at least $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. more than half went without needed care because of cost, the survey found, and more than a third endured mistakes and disorganized care when they did get treated.

..'the american health care system is quietly imploding, and it's about time we did something about it,' " said lucian l. leape of the harvard school of public health. - wapo the report from health affairs

and one of the ways researchers note the health and modernization of a country is by infant mortality rates. and, surprise..surprise...the us' is rising...

the u.s.. infant mortality rate is on the rise for the first time since 1958, according to the centers for disease control and prevention. in 2001, the infant mortality rate was 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births — in 2002, the rate rose to 7.0. (2003 data is not yet complete.)

..."infant mortality rates tends to trend with socio-economic status," said dr. nancy green, medical director for the march of dimes. "african-americans have much, much higher rates of infant mortality than other groups." - abc news

posted by Cookie Jill at 12:25 PM |