The PBS NewsHour reports on the most recent report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on global health care spending.
Snapshots:
NewsHour: The U.S. system is known for over-testing and over-treating, everything from CT scans and MRIs, knee replacements to coronary bypasses. How severe is the over-testing and why is it occurring? Are there mechanisms in place to prevent this in other OECD countries?
Mark Pearson, head of Division on Health Policy at OECD: “Our data suggests that the U.S. does do more tests than other OECD countries. The U.S. did 100 MRI tests and 265 CT tests for every 1000 people in 2010 — more than twice the average in other OECD countries. It does more tonsillectomies and more knee replacements than any other OECD country. It also has more Caesarean sections and coronary bypass procedures than in most other countries.”
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Paul
October 24, 2012 at 4:26 pmWe also lead the world in bankruptcy due to medical expenses–a category unknown in the other industrialized nations. Amazing.
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