| New
England Journal of Medicine Reports That Patients Get Proper
Health Care Only About 50% of the Time
According
to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine,
patients receive the appropriate recommended care from health
care providers only 54.9 percent of the time.
The study utilized telephone surveys in 12 metropolitan areas
to identify willing participants who would provide a health
history and listing of their health care providers. Those
who agreed signed written consent forms so that their medical
records could be reviewed.
The initial sample included 20,028 adults. Medical records
were then reviewed for acute and chronic conditions that represented
the leading causes of death and illness. Physicians then reviewed
national guidelines and medical literature and applied that
to the review of each patient's chart.
The average age of the patients in the survey was 44.7 years.
Women had higher rates of visits and whites had higher visit
rates than blacks. In terms of adherence to quality indicators
according to condition, coronary artery disease recommended
care was received only 68% of the time. Moreover, only 45%
of persons presenting with a myocardial infarction (heart
attack), received beta-blockers, which reduce the risk of
death by 13% during the first week of treatment and 23 % over
the long term.
Cerebrovascular disease patients received recommended care
only 59.1% of the time and colon cancer patients received
the recommended care only 53.9% of the time. Among elderly
patients, only 64% had received or been offered a pneumonia
vaccine when nearly 10,000 preventable deaths from pneumonia
annually occur.
The study notes that only 24% of participants in the study
with diabetes received three or more blood sugar tests over
a two year period. This routine monitoring is essential to
the assessment of the treatment and identification of complications
of this disease at an early stage.
Persons with hypertension (high blood pressure) received
the recommended care only 64.7% of the time. Poor blood pressure
control contributes to more than 68,000 preventable deaths
annually.
The authors of the study say their report is the largest
and most comprehensive examination of the quality of health
care in the United States. The lead author, Elizabeth McGlynn
says that the study demonstrates that Americans cannot take
for granted that they are getting good care.
The report's conclusion is that "These deficits, which
pose serious threats to the health of the American public,
persist despite initiatives by both the federal government
and private health care delivery systems to improve care."
The authors suggest that a key component of the potential
solution will be to make information on performance available
at all levels. "Making such information available will
require a major overhaul of our current health information
systems, with a focus on automating the entry and retrieval
of key data for clinical decision making and for the measurement
and reporting of quality."
The Cochran Firm - Dallas, L.L.P.
Turtle Creek Centre, Suite 1400
3811 Turtle Creek Boulevard
Dallas, Texas
75219
phone:
214.651.4260
| fax: 214.651.4261
Edward H. Moore is Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law. Unless otherwise noted, not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
The statements and information provided on this web site are for the information of the recipient only. This site is not intended to provide legal advice and no attorney-client relationship should be deemed to arise from the receipt this page and its associated pages. |
Copyright © 2003 The Cochran Firm - Dallas, L.L.P.,
All Rights Reserved.
|
|
