Posted by Michael Wonder on 31 Aug 2018
Crossing the global health care quality chasm: a key component of universal health coverage
31 August 2018 - Despite years of investment and research, the quality of health care in every country is much worse than it should be. Problems range from disrespect of people when they are interacting with the health care system, to preventable mistakes and harm, to high rates of incorrect and ineffective treatment.
Among low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) the exact burden of poor quality is difficult to quantify because of a dearth of data, lack of standard metrics, and insufficient research on quality interventions. But new estimates suggest that globally between 5.7 and 8.4 million people die every year from poor-quality care in LMICs.
These deaths, plus disabilities from poor-quality care, account for lost productivity totalling an estimated $1.4 trillion to $1.6 trillion dollars annually.
