Comments on: Warning: Graphic Politics

By: Apartments in Costa Del Sol

Apartments in Costa Del Sol — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:28:43 +0000

I totally disagree with yiou as there is no connection with the doctor's visits and good outcome.

By: Executive suites

Executive suites — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:33:22 +0000

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By: Data Recovery

Data Recovery — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:18:10 +0000

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By: Why Does The US Spend So Much On Healthcare? - Better Health

Why Does The US Spend So Much On Healthcare? - Better Health — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:44:55 +0000

[...] about that flat line in the alternate universe in which Nixon or Carter got their plans passed. Beware of charts promising simple descriptions of health care [...]

By: Sushi and Insurance | Auto Insurance

Sushi and Insurance | Auto Insurance — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:01:15 +0000

[...] Warning: Graphic Politics [...]

By: Health Care Costs Around the World at RYN SHANE-ARMSTRONG: FOUND MEDIA

Health Care Costs Around the World at RYN SHANE-ARMSTRONG: FOUND MEDIA — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:00:26 +0000

[...] Boing Boing National Geographic PTS Blog Andrew Gelman Evan Falchuk OECD [...]

By: Saving Billions On End-Of-Life Care: Another Mirage? - Better Health

Saving Billions On End-Of-Life Care: Another Mirage? - Better Health — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:00:43 +0000

[...] point where it’s beneficial. But it does show — again — how easy it is to get lured into oversimplifications of the problems in health [...]

By: Evan Falchuk

Evan Falchuk — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:49:39 +0000

Thanks, Vanessa. I'm not familiar with data on miscarriages. But it's correct, I think, that life expectancy is a function of overall public health, rather than an indicator of whether the health care delivery system is any good or not.

Evan

By: VanessaOnTheRight

VanessaOnTheRight — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:47:07 +0000

Evan:
Wonderful analysis! I heard some where (and am trying to look up the exact statistics to show my liberal friends) that some countries on the chart do not count miscarriages as an infant dying where we would. For example, the U S would consider a miscarriage at a certain number of weeks (let's just say 32) and a European country doesn't report it. Have you heard of that? I think that's one reason our infant mortality is higher. Another factor, of course, is that many of the European countries are very monolithic whereas the US has much more ethnic diversity so it's not an exact compare. Add to that we have a larger out-of-wedlock birthrate which again contributes to higher infant mortality. Please keep up the great analysis.
Vanessa

By: Evan Falchuk

Evan Falchuk — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:33:40 +0000

Hi Margaret, thanks for your comment.

I agree with what you're saying, and didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

Life expectancy - like the amount of money spent, or how often people go to the doctor - just isn't a proxy for the quality of medical care.

The factors you describe so well drive things like life expectancy. Indeed, I linked to a chart of life expectancy by county in the US. You can see that the areas of the country that have the biggest problems with those issues tend to have the lowest life expectancy.

Again, thanks for your thoughtful comment!

Evan