Austria outstripped the Netherlands and France as the most consumer-friendly system overall, while the UK ranked just 17 out of 29 European nations in the latest assessment produced by the Health Consumer Powerhouse, a Swedish-based private healthcare analyst.

The report claims “Bismarck”-style healthcare systems, such as Germany’s, funded by a series of insurers independent of healthcare providers, do better than “Beveridge”-style systems such as the UK’s National Health Service, where finance and provision are contained in a single organisation.

The study argues that better outcomes reflect stronger consumer choice between different insurers.

Overall, the report rates the UK a “mediocre” performer, which does well for heart problems and provision of healthcare information, but poorly on access to new cancer drugs, five year cancer survival and direct access to specialist doctors.

From:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fcc7cd02-7081-11dc-a6d1-0000779fd2ac.html

On April 05, 2006 Health Direct posted: Doctors For Reform- NHS is failing and unsustainable

Doctors For Reform once believed the NHS was the finest healthcare system in the world. Today few healthcare professionals would make that claim. Britain is the world’s fourth largest economy. But it does not enjoy standards of healthcare consistent with its status.

On measures such as life expectancy, infant mortality, premature mortality and cancer survival rates the UK continues to perform poorly compared to other countries and there is a significant gap with the best performing countries.

The time has come to look at new ways to supply and fund healthcare.

The NHS cannot meet public expectations today (2006). It is highly unlikely that it will meet them tomorrow. Future generations will seek rapid access to care, greater choice and more information about their treatment.

We need a healthcare system which is equal to rapidly rising costs and demand, and which enables professionals to retain the essential bond of trust with their patients.