The state of health care quality 2003: industry trends and analysis.(Health Care Industry)

National Committee for Quality Assurance, September 2003

"[Our] report shows that the nation's health care system is riddled with 'quality gaps' that prevent millions of Americans from receiving 'best-practice' care.

These gaps, the result of factors such as poor use of technology and irrational payment systems, lead to more than 57,000 avoidable deaths each year. The deaths come not as a result of error, but of omission--many Americans do not receive care that medical science has shown to be effective in controlling existing conditions (Table 1). Nationwide, only about 40% of the 31 million Americans with diagnosed high blood pressure have their blood …