Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton spoke to Dartmouth Hitchcock physicians Thursday about improving healthcare quality.
She said that without improving quality overall, it would be nearly impossible to reduce healthcare costs and extend health insurance to all Americans.
NHPR’s Dianne Finch Reports.
Senator Clinton told doctors and nurses today that the US has some of the best doctors, nurses and technologies in the world.
But she added that America spends more money per patient than any other country – but falls behind on quality.
“We’re ranked 23rd in infant mortality and 42nd in life expectancy. And according to a Rand study adults in the US on average fail to receive about one-half of the medical care they need.â€
Clinton proposes several measures to monitor and improve healthcare quality.
She advocates for a national database that patients can use to find hospitals’ rates of infections, deaths and other data.
Among other initiatives, she proposes investing in nursing education to address shortages.
And creation of a new research institute where doctors can learn about the latest medical research.
For NHPR News, I’m Dianne Finch
