U.S. ranks lowest in international healthcare survey

The U.S. ranked third best in “effective care,” which measured how well patients received “services that are effective and appropriate for preventing or treating a given condition and controlling chronic illness,” according to the survey. Patients in the U.S. were found to be more likely to receive preventative care reminders and advice from their physicians than those in most other countries.

The U.S. also scored well on measures of timeliness of care, which is under the category ranking access to care. Unfortunately, the overall score in the category was pulled down to ninth best due to the high number of respondents who said they had problems accessing healthcare due to the cost.

The Commonwealth Fund collected data prior to the adoption of the Affordable Care Act, which is increasing the number of Americans with access to healthcare and addressing other deficiencies found in the survey results.

“Continued implementation of the law could further encourage more affordable access and more efficient organization and delivery of healthcare, and allow investment in preventive and population health measures that could improve the performance of the U.S. [healthcare] system,” the reported stated.

The other 10 countries surveyed were Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth Fund previously surveyed healthcare systems in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2010.