US health care system partially responsible for poor health? (part 2)

(Continued from US health care system partially

responsiblefor poor health? part 1)

The high cost of the health caresystem is considered to be a deficit, but seems to be tolerated underthe assumption that better health results from more expensive care.However, evidence from a few studies indicates that as many as 20% to 30%of patients receive inappropriate care. An estimated 44,000 to 98,000among them die each year as a result of medical errors. Among 13 countriesin a recent comparison, the United States ranks an average of 12th (secondfrom the bottom) for 16 available health indicators. The ranking ofthe US on several indicators was:

* 13th (last) forlow-birth-weight percentages

* 13th for neonatalmortality and infant mortality overall

* 11th forpostneonatal mortality

* 13th for years ofpotential life lost (excluding external causes)

* 11th for lifeexpectancy at 1 year for females, 12th for males

* 10th for lifeexpectancy at 15 years for females, 12th for males

* 10th for lifeexpectancy at 40 years for females, 9th for males

* 10th forage-adjusted mortality

These estimates of death due toerror are lower than those in a recent Institutes of

Medicine report, and if the higherestimates are used, the deaths due to iatrogenic causes would rangefrom 230,000 to 284,000. Even at the lower estimate of 225,000 deaths peryear, this constitutes the third leading cause of death in the US,following heart disease and cancer.

What can I do immediately to makesure that I stay healthy and out of the doctor’s office? A good Springcleansing will do the trick.