October 11th, 2007
Today's Debate: How bad is childrens' health care?
A New England Journal of Medicine article, out today, says the state of childrens’ health care in the U.S. is “far from optimal.”
This is putting it mildly. Kids in this country, even those with insurance, routinely get less than half the health care measures pediatricians recommend.
In the study, medical records from over 1,500 children, in 12 metro areas, were studied, and the care compared with quality indicators from the RAND Corp. and UCLA. On average, kids received about 67% of indicated care for acute problems, 54% of indicated care for chronic problems, and just 40% of indicated preventative care.
In a related editorial, the NEJM editors call the results “shocking,” and write that improvement will require “systematic change,” saying leaders “must take action.”
This comes against the backdrop of a fight over the State Childrens’ Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). President Bush has vetoed expanded funding, saying it would take too many middle-class kids out of the private health insurance system. Democrats look like they will be unable to override that veto in the House.
While some may say the NEJM study is aimed at the S-CHIP fight, the fact is the study covered all kids, even those covered by health insurance, even those who don’t need it.
What the NEJM is calling for is something far more systematic:
Even more innovation is needed in new models of care and in the substantive redesign of the organization human resources, finance, and delivery of health services underlying the children’s health care system. Although these strategies extend far beyond the data in the article … the data themselves may provide a clarion call for action.
Personally, I found the results shocking. I have two children, one who still sees a pediatrician, and I had always been happy with the quality of care both received. But it seems I was wrong.
So how bad is it? Read the NEJM study and the editorial before answering, if you can.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 10/12/07
