Password Magazine - Issue 21: Healthcare

Facts about healthcare

• With a worldwide expenditure of US$ 3,300 billion in 2002, corresponding to 8% of the world’s gross domestic product, healthcare is the world’s largest service sector. 70% of this amount is spent in 5 countries: USA, Japan, Germany, France and Italy.
• 62% of healthcare costs are primary care costs (physicians salaries and cost of hospitalization), 13% are for drug prescriptions, 9% are for nursing and home healthcare. Medical equipment and devices account for 7%.
• Cardio and vascular diseases and cancer are responsible for approximately 60% of the deaths in the US. Yet, US average life expectancy has risen from 68 years in 1950 to 78 in 2000. In the last 25 years, the number of people under 65 years of age dying from heart disease has come down by more than 50%.
• Around 70% of the survival improvement in heart attack mortality is a result of changes in technology. Every US$ invested in technology to diagnose and treat heart disease brings $ 6 return in economic value.

Sources:

Medistat

WHO

NIH

CDC, National Vital Statistics

NCHS

Cutler & McClellan, 2001

For more information

Dr Paul Smit

Senior Vice President Strategy and Business Development at Philips Medical Systems