The US Healthcare System is Failing Patients: Here’s What We Can Do About It

More than 70% of U.S. adults feel the healthcare system is failing to meet their needs in at least one way, according to new data from the Harris Poll. Only 27% of the survey participants said the U.S. medical system meets all their needs.

Despite spending more per capita on health care than any other wealthy country, the U.S. struggles to match other nations’ life expectancy and different health outcomes. The new Harris Poll survey, conducted from February to March 2023 and commissioned by the American Academy of Physician Associates, shows that patient satisfaction also suffers due to the high costs, inaccessibility, and confusing logistics of U.S. medical care.

Only 27% of people who took the survey said the U.S. medical system meets all of their needs, while the rest listed complaints including how long it takes to get an appointment (31% of respondents), high costs (26%), limitations of insurance coverage (23%), and subpar focus on preventive care and wellness (19%).

The survey did, however, suggest some bright spots and paths forward. More than 75% of survey participants said that providers work with them to improve their health, more than 70% said they want more robust relationships with their providers, and more than 65% said they believe their health would improve if they regularly worked with a trusted provider-responses that suggest Americans haven’t given up on the system, despite their frustrations.

What causes the dissatisfaction?

These problems are having a real impact on patients’ lives. People are dying because they can’t afford the care they need, and others are suffering from preventable illnesses because they can’t get the care they need when they need it. The US healthcare system requires significant reform, and we must act now to fix it.

Here are some of the things that we can do to improve the US healthcare system:

We need to take action now to fix the US healthcare system. The lives of millions of Americans depend on it.

Originally published at https://worldofdtcmarketing.com on May 23, 2023.