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United States Still Ranks Last in Study Comparing Health Care Systems
By News Staff
Most noteworthy about the U.S. system is the absence of universal access to health care, something all the other countries studied have, according to the report. As a result, fewer Americans have access to a regular, primary care physician or a medical home.
"Other nations ensure the accessibility of care through universal health insurance systems and through better ties between patients and the physician practices that serve as their long-term 'medical home,'" the authors write. "It is not surprising, therefore, that the U.S. substantially underperforms other countries on measures of access to care and equity in health care between populations with above-average and below-average incomes."
AAFP public and private advocacy efforts are focusing on payment systems that allow family physicians to provide a patient-centered medical home that manages and coordinates care.
Most recently, AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., called on Congress to adopt a payment system that encourages patients to use a medical home and compensates physicians who provide a medical home.
"It is time to stabilize and modernize Medicare by recognizing the importance of, and appropriately valuing, primary care and by embracing the patient-centered medical home model as an integral part of the Medicare program," Kellerman said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health.
In addition, AAFP is working with corporations, such as IBM, to push the health care system toward reform that uses the medical home as its foundation.
"Our country needs a patient-centered primary care system -- where the personal care physician serves as an advocate who attends the total health care needs of patients before health issues become more serious and expensive," wrote MartĂn-Jose SepĂșlveda, M.D., M.P.H., vice president for global well-being services and health benefits for IBM Corp., in an April 4 AAFP News Now guest opinion (Members Only). "Patients should have a 'medical home' where they can be treated by a personal physician who understands their overall physical and emotional needs," he said.
Health Scorecard Ranks U.S. on Lower Rungs: Lack of Medical Homes, Coverage Cited
(9/25/2006)
Additional Resources
World Health Report 2000 -- Health Systems: Improving Performance
The Effects of Specialist Supply on Populations' Health: Assessing the Evidence (pay-per-view fee for nonsubscribers to Health Affairs)
Adding More Specialists Is Not Likely To Improve Population Health: Is Anybody Listening? (pay-per-view fee for nonsubscribers to Health Affairs)
Why Not the Best? Results from a National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance
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