Study: UK Health Care Flawed, Canadian Wait Times Highest, and Dutch Care Scores Best

In Britain, it’s difficult to get a doctor on weeknights and weekends. In Canada, one-third of surveyed patients said it took six or more days to get care. These are some of the findings from a landmark health care study released today. Digital Journal — A thorough study by the Commonwealth Fund, a US think tank, criticizes health-care systems in several countries, most notably highlighting flaws in the UK, Canada, U.S. and New Zealand. Some of its more intriguing findings include this fact that should be familiar to anyone who saw Michael Moore’s Sicko: Americans spend double what people in other industrialized countries do on health care —$6,697 per capita on health care in 2005, compared to Canada’s $3,326 per capita. The think tank’s president, Karen Davis, told reporters:

The thing that struck me in this survey is the trouble that Americans have in getting to see their own doctors. As in previous surveys, U.S. adults were most likely to have gone without care because of… high out-of-pocket costs.

Canada got its share of criticism, too. The survey found 60 per cent of Canadian respondents believed fundamental change was needed to the health-care system, the highest among the seven nations surveyed. Also, the report highlighted an area of concern familiar to many Canadians: waiting time to see a doctor. The report states, according to the National Post:

The 14% who said they waited more than six months for elective surgery was second only to the United Kingdom (15%), compared with a low of 2% in Holland… Almost one-third of Canadians said they had to wait six days or more to get an appointment with their doctor last time they were sick, easily the highest among the seven countries.

Also troubling are wait times once at the hospital: 46 per cent of Canadians reported having to wait more than two hours, the highest of any of the nations. The Commonwealth Fund saved some of its vitriol for the UK. They found 55 per cent of UK patients said they had had difficulty getting access to a doctor on weekends and nights, the BBC News wrote. Some more bad press came from the report:

The UK also has the worst record for waiting times with 15% having to wait for more than six months for elective treatment.

But the report mentioned a key bright spot for Brits: they are the least likely to have problems paying bills. Just 1 per cent of British respondents said they had had difficulties, compared to 19 per cent in the US and 8 per cent in both Australia and New Zealand. Also, patients in New Zealand and Britain had the least confidence of getting top-notch medical care. The health care systems in certain countries do work wonderfully, the report said. The Dutch and German systems were highly lauded, and Australia’s low per capita costs earned some kudos, too. Davis said the report should act a wake-up call:

Every country does well on some things, doesn't do well on other things. What we really need to do is not deny we have problems, but ... look at the countries that have good performance on those dimensions and try to learn from them.