Two young girls get diagnosed with the same form of leukemia, one in the UK, the other Stateside.
Both girls received excellent care, but the cost in the US was almost twice as much, with significant out-of-pocket expense. In the UK, the family was completely shielded from the cost and was able to take time out without worrying about losing their health insurance. But was there a sacrifice in terms of waiting times or access to cutting-edge medical treatments?
It’s a compelling story contrasting their diagnostic and treatment approaches, as well as costs in two disparate health care systems.
topics: leukemia, nhs
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- "Socioeconomic status is the strongest predictor of health"
- If you think medical school is already difficult, try doing it while battling leukemia
- Medi-Cal cuts
- Sicko: Leading us backwards?
- Hospital of the future?
- Treated to death
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Here’s another story of two cancers in the UK:
http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2007/03/tale-of-two-cancers.html
http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v92/n7/full/6602463a.html
An audit of 29 lung cancer patients awaiting radical radiotherapy in Glasgow (O’Rourke and Edwards, 2000) found a median delay between the first hospital visit and starting radiotherapy of 94 days. During this time, six potentially curable patients became incurable.
O’Rourke N, Edwards R (2000) Lung cancer treatment waiting times and tumour growth. Clin Oncol 12: 141–144
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/dec/16/health.publicservices
London’s Observer (3/3/02) carried a story saying that an “unpublished report shows some patients are now having to wait more than eight months for treatment, during which time many of their cancers become incurable.” Another story said, “According to a World Health Organisation report to be published later this year, around 10,000 British people die unnecessarily from cancer each year — three times as many as are killed on our roads.”
The Observer (12/16/01) also reported, “A recent academic study showed National Health Service delays in bowel cancer treatment were so great that, in one in five cases, cancer which was curable at the time of diagnosis had become incurable by the time of treatment.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/jul/09/cancercare.health
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/mar/23/nhsstaff.health
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/mar/10/NHS.cancercare
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/mar/10/health.uknews
Perioperative mortality: “Patients who have major surgery in Britain are four times more likely to die than those in America, according to a major new study.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/sep/07/health.nhs
This is just the Guardian, ‘cause that’s what I happened to search. You can find the same at any other UK news site.
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