Study: U.S. chronically ill most likely to go without care

In yet another sign of the stresses facing our healthcare system, a recent study found that chronically ill patients in the U.S. are much more likely to go without healthcare because of the cost than patients from the other nations studied. The Commonwealth Fund surveyed 7,500 patients from the U.S. and seven other nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

In addition to chronically ill patients going without medical care, they also found that the U.S. patients had the worst experience with medical errors, coordination problems, and out-of-pocket expenses. More than 50 percent of chronically ill patients' reports included not filling prescriptions, skipping doses, not visiting physicians, and not getting recommended care.

The researchers also gave recommendations for how to improve these problems, which included using incentives and bundled payments, and engaging patients and communities to focus on prevention and health.

To learn more about the study:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

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