Poor Medical Treatment Kills Thousands

[Judi Lynn]

Poor Medical Treatment Kills Thousands
Poor Medical Treatment Kills Thousands in U.S., Says New Report on Health Care Quality

The Associated Press



WASHINGTON Sept. 23, 2004 — Requiring doctors and hospitals to report publicly on their performance and tying their pay to the results would dramatically reduce avoidable deaths and costs attributable to poor medical care, says a new report from an organization that works to improve health care quality.

Wild variations in medical care led to 79,000 avoidable deaths and $1.8 billion in additional medical costs last year, the private National Committee for Quality Assurance said in its annual report released Wednesday.

The report described a substantial gap in quality between the best providers and the national average for treating a range of common conditions that would not be tolerated in almost any other sector of the U.S. economy. For example, failure to control high blood pressure resulted in up to 26,000 deaths last year that could have been avoided with competent medical care, the report said.

The differences in health care quality persist even as health insurance premiums have risen by more than 10 percent annually for the past four years. "This report underscores that all too often we are not getting good value for that money," said Peter V. Lee, president and chief executive of the Pacific Business Group on Health, a coalition of businesses that provide health insurance to 3 million people.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Living/ap20040923_215.html

[area51]

1. Poor medical treatment kills ...

as does lack of medical care, since our tax dollars are not being used wisely for universal healthcare.

[mbperrin]

2. Right! we spend more per capita for health care than any

other country, but we don't get what we pay for due to the HMO, et al., structure. A single-pay plan would cost less AND provide care for everyone!

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. And how, exactly, is tort reform going to make this better?

It's not. Victims who survive their harrowing experiences with medical malpractice, just cease to be fully functioning individuals and their loss of productivity affects their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. But, it's just a victim and under Republican management, they don't count.

[Lady Effingbroke]

4. If you're rich in America, you can buy the best medical care in the world.

If you're poor, then, sadly, it's a much different situation. Meanwhile, billions continue to be wasted to achieve a "catastrophic success" in Iraq. Nothing could more sharply illustrate the true priorities of the current Rethug cabal.

on edit: spelling

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Poor medical care for elderly patients. I know of cases where the

doctors more or less give up and tell the family, "Well, he IS 92 years old. He's had a good life." But the patient had been in hardy health prior to the admission to the hospital. And by neglect and apathy by the doctors and medical staff, someone's father, uncle, brother, etc. dies when he could have been saved.

And this scenario is not restricted to geriatric patients. It could be you in the hospital bed with the same "care".

[havocmom]

6. Have you forgotten the 3000 killed at the WTC? We cannot afford health

care reform! We have to spend billion$ attacking a nation which had nothing to do with hurting anyone in America! Where is your patriotic blood lust?

Quick! Divert your eyes from the illusion that health care in America needs help. Look at all the smoke in these pictures of the WTC, where 3000 brave Americans lost their lives in a terrible attack by some fortunate son of a Saudi (so they say) family.... Step through the looking glass and all will appear fine and good...

We can't afford health care reform. It would prevent us from paying billions to corporations with sham offshore headquarters so they avoid paying taxes while outsourcing jobs and circumvent those pesky laws prohibiting trading with certain nations...

Insurance companies and Pharmaceutical companies need to extort obscene profits from the US consumers. If we reform the system we will end up with rationed health care instead of the system we have now where the working poor get no health care, the insured middle class finds out the insurance they pay for can deny treatment, the wealthy have doctors on retainers and can get in immediately in case they fall off a Segway... Remember: Medical care reform will result in rationed health care and Americans won't accept that! /sarcasm

Meanwhile, in the real world, people go to work sick, endanger their co-workers and the world spins on.

[dumpster_baby]

7. time for our politicians to pay for this criminal neglect

The corporate lackey stance of our politician has cost the lives of thousands of Americans. Our politcians have a duty of care in this regard. Time we change our laws to bring to account our out of control elite.