The largest line item in the 2016 national healthcare budget was $1 trillion for hospital care which comprised of $670 billion for clinician services and $360 billion for drugs (Topol, 2017). Add in the fact that one in four patients are harmed while in the hospital and it’s easy to see that the American Healthcare System is extremely expensive and yields poor outcomes. Third world countries spend less on healthcare and yield better outcomes. For such a developed and technologically-advanced country like the United States, it is unfortunate that the healthcare system is underdeveloped and does not utilize the latest innovative technology.
References
Topol, E. (2017). The Smart-Medicine Solution to the Health-Care Crisis. WSJ. Retrieved 11 November 2017, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-smart-medicine-solution-to-the-health-care-crisis-1499443449