A study performed in Canada contrasts research results that showed expensive healthcare in the U.S. does not necessarily translate to improved patient outcomes, according to a Patriot-News report.
Researchers at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, Canada, assessed the outcomes of 400,000 patients admitted for various conditions, including heart attack, congestive heart failure, hip fracture or colon cancer, from 1998 to 2008. The researchers then divided the patients into three hospital categories, based on how much was spent on hospital, emergency and physician services. The highest category of hospitals spent $45,000 per patient per year, indicating a twofold increase compared to the lowest category of hospitals.
Their assessment showed that patients at hospitals with the most expenditures experienced lower rates of mortality, readmission and heart attacks. These results are at odds with American research results that showed higher healthcare expenditures do not improve health outcomes at all.
According to the report, the two studies show there are limits to the use of healthcare services.
Researchers at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, Canada, assessed the outcomes of 400,000 patients admitted for various conditions, including heart attack, congestive heart failure, hip fracture or colon cancer, from 1998 to 2008. The researchers then divided the patients into three hospital categories, based on how much was spent on hospital, emergency and physician services. The highest category of hospitals spent $45,000 per patient per year, indicating a twofold increase compared to the lowest category of hospitals.
Their assessment showed that patients at hospitals with the most expenditures experienced lower rates of mortality, readmission and heart attacks. These results are at odds with American research results that showed higher healthcare expenditures do not improve health outcomes at all.
According to the report, the two studies show there are limits to the use of healthcare services.
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