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The United Kingdom was
ranked highest overall, Switzerland second, and the United States last in a new
report that compared the health systems of 11 developed nations.1 The US, the report noted, spent more than $8500
(£5000; €6270) per capita on health in a year, while the UK spent less than
half that, at $3400 per person.
The study was the
fifth in a series produced by the Commonwealth Fund. It draws on international
surveys that the New York City based foundation has conducted with patients and
doctors, as well as data on health spending and outcomes from the Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Health Organization.
The report ranked the
11 countries in this order:
The UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Germany
and the
Netherlands (a tie), New Zealand and Norway
(another tie), France, Canada, and The US, which was
ranked lowest for the fifth time in a row.
The report ranked the
nations according to five measures of health system performance: quality of care,
access to care, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives, which were based on
indicators such as infant mortality or mortality amenable to healthcare. The US
came last or nearly last in four of the five measures.
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