UK healthcare system is one of most efficient in rich countries

doi:10.1136/bmj.d5143

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Anne Gulland

¹London

The United Kingdom has the second most efficient health system of 19 economically developed countries, while the US health system ranks 17th, a comparative study has found.

The research in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (doi:10.1258/shorts.2011.011076) assessed the cost effectiveness of the health systems in 19 countries from 1980 to 2005. It found that Ireland’s system was the most cost effective, followed by the United Kingdom in second place, then New Zealand, Austria, and Australia.

The authors used a “simple economic model” to determine cost …