International study: Americans most likely to forgo chronic care treatment

A survey of chronically ill patients in eight industrialized nations has found that those in the U.S. are most likely to forgo care because of cost (Source: “In Chronic Condition: Experiences Of Patients With Complex Health Care Needs, In Eight Countries, 2008,” Health Affairs, Nov. 13, 2008).

Chronically ill Americans also are more likely to experience medical errors, care coordination problems and high out-of-pocket costs compared to patients in other countries, according to the Commonwealth Fund survey.

"The study highlights major problems in our broken health care system and the need to make major changes," said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, lead author of the Health Affairs article. "Patients are telling us about inefficient, unsafe, and often wasteful care. Moreover, a lack of access as well as poor coordination of care is putting chronically ill patients at even higher health risk."

The survey also included patients from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.