Where You Get Your Care Makes a Difference
By John Goodman Filed under Health Care Costs, Science and Other News on October 28, 2009 with 5 comments
Five years after surgery for prostate cancer, for instance, 72 percent of men treated at leading hospitals are alive, compared with 62 percent of those treated elsewhere. Scrutinizing data from specific cancer centers reveals even greater gaps. Five-year survival for stage IV prostate cancer is 71 percent at Fox Chase, for instance, but 38 percent nationally. For stage IV breast cancer, the respective figures are 28 percent and 19 percent—an almost 50 percent edge. For stage IV cervical cancer, five-year survival is 33 percent at the Cleveland Clinic vs. 16 percent nationally.
This is Begley and Interlandi in Newsweek. HT to Alex Tabarrok of Marginal Revolution.
I’ve never doubted it.
These numbers are fairly stunning.
Socialized medicine uses the least common denominator to fix this and other health care disparities. That way, everyone can enjoy equally low survival rates.
It sounds like some of the doctors and hospitals are just going through the motions and not really putting much though into what the patient actually needs.
A problem is that people often have to travel to get the best care. And when people are sick, they often resist traveling.