reporting

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10/27/2009

AZ,EE,MW,NY,SC,SW,WE BG,BM,CH,CK,CT,DA,DE,DM,DN,DR,FW,HL,HW,KC,LA,LD,LG,LK,NA,NM,OR,PA,RI,RO,SB,SH,TD,TU,UT,WO

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

R2 Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Editor’s Note

I

t’s fair to say that few, if any, topics get as much attention these days as health care. It dominates the conversation in Washington, in the media, around the water cooler. And for good reason: Few topics have as much of an impact on our daily lives, in so many ways. But sometimes lost in the big debate over how to insure more people, more efficiently, are some of the smaller innovations that offer surprisingly significant improvements in care and cost. In this report, we introduce you to some of these innovations. Such as: —High-tech, remote monitoring of patients in hospital ICU units. —The digitization of medical records. —Public report cards on hospitals. —Getting parents more involved in medical decisions involving struggling newborns. —Instituting a checklist at hospitals to reduce the number of life-threatening infections. So as the national debate rages on about what changes will and won’t work, take some time to read about innovations that are already happening. And working. —LAWRENCE ROUT

Annual Checkup

HEALTH SPENDING

HEALTH-CARE ACTIVITIES

How the U.S. performs on various health-care measures compared with the 29 other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Paris-based group of industrialized countries

Total spending on health care, as a percentage of GDP

Doctor consultations per capita

HEALTH RESOURCES

Health spending per capita, in dollars

Practicing physicians, density per 1,000 population 2.43

U.S. Highest (Belgium)

4.03 1.51

Lowest (Turkey)

3.10

OECD Average

Practicing nurses, density per 1,000 population

Highest (Norway) Lowest (Turkey)

31.92 2.01

Highest (Denmark) 16.1

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Hospital beds per 1,000 population U.S.

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OECD Average

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13.9

$7,290 $823 $2,964

OECD Average

Public spending on health, as a percentage of total spending on health

1.7

Lowest (Netherlands) OECD Average

14.0 25.7

5.5

U.S. 85.2%

45.2% 72.8%

19.0

Highest (Japan) Lowest (Denmark)

3.5 6.5

OECD Average

RISK FACTORS Alcohol consumption, liters per capita (population 15 and over)

12.0% 31.2% 8.0%

8.6

U.S

13.4

Highest (Ireland) Lowest (Turkey)

1.2 9.6

OECD Average

17.1%

Total spending on pharmaceuticals per capita, in dollars U.S.

$878

Highest (U.S.)

$878 $198

Tobacco consumption, as a percentage of population 15 and over who are daily smokers 15.4

U.S.

39.7

Highest (Greece)

$461

OECD Average

3.8

39.9

Highest (Mexico)

Average length of stay for acute care, in days

45.4%

Highest (Czech Rep.) Lowest (Mexico)

31.1

U.S.

$7,290

Lowest (Mexico)

15.4

Lowest (U.S.)

23.3

OECD Average

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) units per million population 25.9

U.S.

25.9

Highest (U.S.) Lowest (Mexico)

HEALTH STATUS Life expectancy at birth, in years 78.1

U.S.

82.6

Highest (Japan)

1.5

72.1

Lowest (Turkey)

10.98

OECD Average

79.0

OECD Average

Computed Tomography (CT) scanners per million population 34.3

U.S.

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3.1

Highest (Japan) Lowest (Mexico)

Caesarean sections per 100 live births

U.S.

OECD Average

32.6

6.8

OECD Average

Highest (U.S.) Lowest (Mexico)

Highest (Hungary) Lowest (Norway)

13.6 2.5

8.8%

U.S. 64.5

OECD Average

REPRINTS AVAILABLE

5.9%

OECD Average

Spending on pharmaceuticals, as a percentage of total spending on health

26.0

U.S.

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Lowest (Mexico)

OECD Average

Medical graduates per 1,000 practicing physicians

Lowest (France)

16%

9.56

OECD Average

The Journal Report welcomes your comments—by mail, fax or email. Letters should be addressed to Lawrence Rout, The Wall Street Journal, 4300 Route 1 North, South Brunswick, N.J. 08852. The fax number is 609-520-7767, and the email address is [email protected].

Highest (Japan)

Highest (U.S.)

U.S.

10.57

U.S.

16%

Lowest (Mexico)

3.8

U.S.

U.S.

Highest (Belgium) Lowest (Mexico) OECD Average

41.6 4.0

U.S.

34.3

Highest (U.S.)

34.3

Lowest (Japan) OECD Average

Infant mortality, deaths per 1,000 live births 6.7

U.S.

17.6

Highest (Turkey) Lowest (Iceland)

20.2

Obese population, as a percentage of total population*

OECD Average

2.0 4.9

3.4 15.1

* U.S. is among 8 countries, including Japan, where estimates are based on actual measurements of height and weight. Such estimates are significantly higher than in countries where estimates are based on self-reporting. Note: All health measurements are for 2007 or the latest year available. Source: OECD Health Data 2009

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