With an alarming number of avoidable deaths and raised medical care costs, proper health care may be hard to come by. It seems the health care system is one-sided, in that it provides excellent care for some and poor care for others.

According to an annual report, wild variations in health care led to:

• 42,000-79,000 avoidable deaths
• 66.5 million avoidable sick days
• $1.8 billion in additional medical care costs

Outlined in another report were the top three leading causes of avoidable health care-related deaths in the United States:

• Controlling high blood pressure: 15,000-26,000
• Cholesterol control: 6,900-17,000
• Diabetes care: 4,300-9,600

The report also noted a large quality gap between the performance of the national average and top health care plans. It seems people in the top tier of health care plans are receiving more attention than those in average plans.

Most doctors and hospitals receive compensation for the amount of care they provide and are replacing quality with quantity. An organization determined to change this proposed a plan to lower the number of patients suffering from improper or poor medical care. This plan involved requiring doctors and hospitals to publicly report their performance of patient care. Consequently, pay would be linked to the quality of their performance, rather than the quantity. Measuring performance makes it possible to:

• Inform consumer choice
• Reward quality
• Target areas for improvement

Publicly reporting performance did show to be beneficial in most areas in the health insurance plans practicing the method. Some areas where progress was seen included cholesterol management, diabetes care, breast cancer screenings and flu shots for adults.

In spite of this progress, there have not been any signs of improvement in mental illness care, specifically in the areas of medical management of depression and follow up care. Unfortunately these two areas are the most widespread and expensive areas concerning public health today.

Though improvements have been seen in health care plans covering 69 million of the U.S. population, concerns have been raised as to where the performance data is for the other 75 percent of the U.S. health care system. Informed choices by the health care system could not be made without having access to this performance data.

A strong advocate of the pay-for-performance system, Medicare, has offered a small portion of payment to hospitals that are willing to provide performance data.

ABC News September 23, 2004.

NCQA News September 23, 2003

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

This article confirms why I have very little faith in the modern health care system. It appears to be so focused on the “business of unnecessary medicine” rather than true healing. The belief of quantity over quality is a powerful contributor to the downfall of the traditional medical community. One of the most important and popular articles I've featured on my Web site in some time – the Modern Health Care System is the Leading Cause of Death series -- illustrates my beliefs on this topic. I also posted another article in a past newsletter on the flawed traditional medical paradigm, and how we are not achieving the high levels of health we could be. Many people find they do not have enough energy to get through the day, while millions of others are suffering with painful crippling diseases because they have violated basic health principles. By the end of the decade, health care costs are expected to rise to $3 TRILLION. That is double the $1.5 TRILLION we are currently paying for health care in the United States. This is largely due to the costs of drugs and surgery and a reliance on a medical system that does not treat the cause of disease. Care, not treatment, is the answer. Drugs, surgery and hospitals are rarely the answer to chronic health problems. Facilitating the God-given healing capacity that all of us have is the key. Following a healthy diet, as outlined in my book, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle are the basic pillars of optimal health. Effective interventions for the underlying emotional and spiritual wounding behind most chronic illness are also important areas to focus on to maximizing health and reducing disease. Related Articles: "Health" Care Spending Continues to Rise Health Spending Growing Faster Than U.S. Economy U.S. Spends More on Health Care but Gets Little in Return Experts Conclude Health Care System is in 'Danger of Collapse' Deaths in England Due to Medical Errors up 500%