North America needs to be looking to Europe and Australia for guidance on how to improve our health care.
In a new study by the Commonwealth Fund entitled Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: How the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally, based on stats from 2011-2013, Canada ranks second-last overall followed by the United States at the very bottom.
The study compares 11 countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and U.S. The U.K. and Switzerland lead the way in overall health care in 1st and 2nd place, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, Canada ranks 11th place (dead last) for 'Timeliness of Care', and second-last for 'Efficiency' and--shockingly--'Safe Care'.
Canada spends $4,522 per capita on healthcare, more than Australia (4th place overall), France (9th overall), Germany (5th overall), New Zealand (7th overall), Sweden (3rd overall) and the U.K., which ranked 1st in nearly every category.