In sync with what President Barack Obama has said, the U.S. healthcare system wastes a lot of money—around $505 billion to $850 billion every year. One-third of the nation’s healthcare bill, an estimated $700 billion is wasted annually. The president has proposed some reforms to mend these apparent inefficiencies. One would be to stop the paper-based system that dissuades sharing of medical records as this contributes to 6% of the annual waste. Making caregivers repeat tests just because results were not recorded in the patient’s medical record adds to the overspending.
37% of healthcare waste ($200-300 billion a year) comes from unnecessary care like protecting against malpractice exposure by overprescribing antibiotics and lab tests. 22% of the waste ($200 billion a year) originates in fraud. 18% is from administrative inefficiency and redundant paper work. 11% is accounted in medical mistakes.
The average American doctor spends almost eight hours a week on paperwork. There are 1.66 clerical workers per doctor, which is far more than those in Canada. All this information can help us understand why Americans who spend the most on healthcare and have the highest GDP percentage has a population that has more diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and higher rates of neonatal deaths than other developed countries.
