30 August, 2004

More glories of socialized medicine: "Almost 2000 New South Wales patients had died or "could not be contacted" by the time they reached the top of the elective surgery waiting list, a new report reveals. The figure is contained in the latest Australian Hospital Statistics 2002-2003 report. Released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the report provides a breakdown of waiting list statistics across states and territories. Of the 214,298 additions to the list in NSW, more than half were admitted within the year" [meaning that half weren't!]




28 August, 2004

Dumb Canadians: "A July 2004 study by the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute, Paying, More, Getting Less, concluded that after years of government control, the Canadian medical system is badly injured and bleeding citizens' hard-earned tax dollars. The institute compared health care systems in the industrialized countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and found Canada currently spends the most, yet ranks among the lowest on such indicators as access to physicians, quality of medical equipment, and key health outcomes. One of the major reasons for this discrepancy is that, unlike the countries in the study that outperformed Canada--Sweden, Japan, Australia, and France, for example-- Canada outlaws most private health care".





27 August, 2004

That wonderful "public" (free-rider) medicine: "Los Angeles County, which has lost six emergency rooms in a little over a year, is on the brink of a far more serious problem, facing more closures that could jeopardize emergency care for tens of thousands of residents, according to public officials and independent analysts".