Americans Spend More on Health and Get Poorer Care

Americans spend nearly twice as much as people from other developed countries on healthcare, but still get lower quality of care, less efficiency and have the least equitable health care system. This is presented in a new report produced by the Commonwealth Fund. The U.S. was compared to six other developed countries; Canada, Britain, Netherlands, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. Of these countries; the U.S. ranked last. The report collected data from nationally representative patient and physician surveys in the countries between the years 2007 and 2009.

The president of the nonprofit organization Commonwealth Fund, Caren Davis, says, “As an American it just bothers me that with all of our know-how, all of our wealth that we are not assuring that people who need healthcare can get it.” Below are some of the staggering numbers:

• 2007 expenditure on health was USD 7,290 per person in the U.S. compared to less than half; USD 3,357 in Australia, USD 3,895 in Canada, USD 3,588 in Germany, USD 3,837 in the Netherlands, USD 2,992 in Britain and USD 2,454 in New Zealand.
• In the last survey of the Fund from 2005, the expenditure of health was USD 6,697 per capita.

President of the Commonwealth Fund; Karen Davis

The expenditure on health per capita has therefore increased with USD 593 per capita from 2005. Experts all agree that all would be well if high costs would mean better healthcare. However, this report that studied issues such as access to care, quality, efficiency, equity and the ability to lead long, healthy, productive lives, showed otherwise in the U.S. Another expert says, “We rank last on safety and do poorly on several dimensions of quality… We do particularly poorly on going without care because of cost. And we also do surprisingly poorly on access to primary care and after-hours care.”

The Netherlands ranked first overall across all different measures, and Britain the best in regards to the quality of healthcare. Experts answers to the survey are; “The findings demonstrate the need to quickly implement provisions in the new health reform law. Health reform legislation recently signed into law by President Barack Obama should begin to improve the affordability of insurance and access to care when fully implemented in 2014.”

According to some experts, European and Australians are claimed to be healthier than Americans, and the latter has the highest obesity rates in the world. On the other hand, smoking rates are higher in other countries than in the U.S.. Obviously, there are many factors to be considered when comparing health of the populace between countries. But there is no question about America’s need to reform its healthcare system. With the high costs of healthcare, more and more people are going abroad for medical treatments; a phenomenon called medical tourism. For more information about medical tourism; visit the Novasans website when launched late this summer.

21st Century will be Driven by Healthcare

Last century was driven by machines; this century will be driven by healthcare industry. As medical and technichal advances are opening up doors for new healthcare treatments, mankind are seeking longer,  healthier lives. With more public attention on health, the industry is growing by the day.

Dr. Devi Shetty

During the last Global Investors Meet in Bangalore, India, Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman of Narayana Hrudalaya said that there is no other industry in the world that can create as many jobs as the healthcare industry for women coming from lower socio-economic status. As an example; for a quarter of a million dollar turnover, the IT industry requires just 5-10 people. But for the same turnover, the healthcare industry requires 250 people, who mainly come from lower socio-economic segments. This is particularly true in India, where the healthcare sextor presently is valued at over US$34 billion, and is expected to reach over US$75 billion by 2010, and the amazing US$150 billion by 2017, according to Technopak Advisors.

Mr. Vishal Bali, CEO for Fortis Healthcare

The CEO of Fortis Hospitals, which is one of the major healthcare players in India, Vishal Bali said, “Over 3,500 international patients got treated at our hospitals in Bangalore in the last one year. About 50 per cent of them came from the developed world. From the perspective of global connectivity, with new international airport, the city is connected to almost every international destination. This is a big boon to healthcare.”

Bangalore is seen as one of the most important areas for medical tourism in India. In a research conducted by National Population Stabilization Fund in association with the National Informatics Centre, Bangalore was ranked as number 2 in the existence of health facilities in India. The next step is to set up an exclusive Healthcare City near Bangalore International Airport. There is no question that India is expanding its medical tourism costume to meet the needs of their international patients!

Would you go to India for global healthcare? Comment below or on the Novasans Facebook page!

Well-Done Meat Increases Cancer Risk

New research claims that eating lots of meat, especially when it is overcooked, can increase the risk of bladder cancer. Meat that is charred can form cancer-causing chemicals, researchers say. This new finding was presented during the US cancer research conference.

The American study, performed at the University of Texas, is based on over 1,700 people and lasted for over 12 years. The investigators found that the risk was highest for those who ate well-cooked red meat, but even chicken and fish, when fried, significantly raised the odds of cancer. Three significant types of the cancer-causing chemicals, called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), raised cancer risk by more than two-and-a-half.

Lead researcher Pr. Xifeng Wu said “This research reinforces the relationship between diet and cancer. The results strongly support what we suspected – people who eat a lot of red meat, particularly well-done red meat, such as fried or barbecued, seem to have a higher likelihood of bladder cancer.”

Dr. Panagiota Mitrou, of the World Cancer Research Fund, says “We recommend that people aim to limit consumption of red meat to 500g – cooked weight – per week and to avoid eating processed meat.”

In UK alone, more than 10,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed each year, and around 5,000 people die from it every year, with almost 90% being over 65 years old.

When Novasans launches it’s website, it will feature more interesting articles on cancer. Pre-register on our website today for more information.

Some Lifestyles Could Lead to Breast Cancer

Breast cancer might not only result from your genes. New research shows that having an unhealthy lifestyle could provoke the outburst.

Up to a third of breast cancer cases could actually be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, it is claimed. This issue was discussed at the European Breast Cancer Conference last week. One of the participants, Carlo La Vecchia of Milan University told the conference; “What can be achieved with screening has been achieved. It’s time to move on to other things”. The Italian epidemiologist La Vecchia also said that 25 to 30 percent of cases would be avoided if women were thinner and did more exercise.

The World Cancer Research Fund has noted that at least 60 percent of the world’s population does not achieve the minimum recommendation for physical activity. As known before, obesity is not only linked to breast cancer, but a number of other cancer types, such as bowel, pancreas, kidney, and endometrium cancer.

Inactivity is a huge problem in the Western world, and the numbers are higher among girls and women. Physical inactivity is estimated to cause as much as 2 million deaths worldwide annually. The highest rates of inactivity are in European WHO member States with low child and high adult mortality (such as Russia, Ukraine, Hungary and Latvia) rates. The lowest rate of inactivity is seen in the high mortality region of Africa (e.g. South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Kongo).

However, as mentioned before, it is not only physical activity that is beneficial if you want to avoid breast cancer. Studies show that drinking one large glass of wine a day increases the chances of developing breast cancer by 20 percent. Dr. Rachel Thompson said that the WCRF had reviewd 954 separate studies, and can conclude that “the evidence is now convincing that drinking alcohol, being physically inactive and having excess body fat all increase risk of breast cancer.”

What are your thought on the numbers above? Have you experienced breast cancer, and how did you battle it? Comment below or on our Facebook page.

A Closer look at the US Health Service

The US spends nearly $2 trillion per year on health, a number very difficult to grasp. That is twice as much as any other nation. However, it is the only industrial economy lacking universal health care coverage.

The US government provides care for the poor and the over 65s. 58% of Americans receive health insurance from their employers. 15%, or 47 million, either can’t afford their own insurance, or choose not to buy an insurance.

The debate about health care reform in the US has been going on for a long time and concerns questions such as fairness, efficiency, cost, quality, and the most debated issue; a right to free health care. In 2008 a report made by the Commonwealth Fund ranked the US last in the quality of health care among the 19 compared countries.

These numbers and issues have of course spurred the interest of Americans in healthcare abroad, and the rise of medical tourism around the world has a lot to thank the American health care system for. The cost and time savings are substantial, and with the international accreditation system becoming more refined, more Americans are enticed to use health care centres abroad. A report by Deloitte Consulting from August 2008 projected that the medical tourism could increase tenfold over the next decade. Only time will tell whether these numbers are accurate.

Would you go abroad for surger? Discuss here or on our Facebook page!