USA - U.S. Patients Conflicted About Future of Healthcare System

HawkPartners/ ICARE Global Patient Pulse Reveals U.S. Patients Conflicted About Future of Healthcare System, Despite High Satisfaction

Cost Burden Is Key Improvement Area in U.S., While Developing Nations Want Better Quality.

The study's U.S. findings reveal a surprising dichotomy between patients' satisfaction and future outlook.

U.S. patients express more contentment with the country's healthcare system (77% are satisfied) than patients from any of six others countries studied: Brazil, China, India, Japan, Germany and Russia.

But despite its many advantages, Americans are no more likely than international patients to view their nation's healthcare system as "among the best."

In fact, U.S. patients are as apt to think the country's healthcare system will decline in the next five and ten years as to believe it will improve.

"The debate over universal coverage, and the widespread media exposure it generated, shows that there are fresh doubts about the future quality of American healthcare," said Scott Berman, president of HawkPartners and leader of the firm's Healthcare practice. "This is despite the fact that the U.S. leads the world in healthcare innovation and spends more per patient than any other country."

The study's proprietary Healthcare Temperature rating, which scores doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurers/payers and government across a wide range of healthcare attributes, shows that patients rate direct caregivers higher on attributes related to trust, innovation and being informed, while institutions score significantly lower - across the board and especially on "genuine concern." Yet developing country patients rate pharmaceutical manufacturers higher on most attributes than patients in other countries, both in absolute terms and relative to other parties, such as caregivers.

"The fact that patients in India, China and Brazil rate pharmaceutical manufacturers highly not only on innovation but also on trust, indicates a great opportunity for pharma companies," continued Berman. "These perceptions support the industry's focus on emerging markets as a primary source of growth in the next decade."

Other highlights of the study include:

Many patients feel that healthcare cost is a major burden, especially in the U.S. In emerging countries, improved quality and access are top priorities.

More than 1 in 3 patients worldwide think providers do not spend enough time on their care.

Discontent with the system is highest in Brazil (57% of patients believe their healthcare quality is among the world's worst), while Germany is most pessimistic about the future (58% think their healthcare will be worse in ten years).

"This evidence will bring to light major opportunities for providers of health-related products and services to develop markets and serve populations better and more extensively. International and local firms both stand to benefit, and public policy objectives could also be advanced," said David de Ferranti, head of Results for Development Institute, a not-for-profit that hosts the influential Center for Health Market Innovations, and former World Bank vice president. "There will be great interest in information like this not only in the countries surveyed but also in Africa and Eastern Europe, and elsewhere in Asia and Latin America, where similar future studies could reveal important healthcare patterns."

To learn more about the Global Patient Pulse, please visit the HawkPartners website. Custom presentations of the study are also available.

About HawkPartners, LLC

HawkPartners is a marketing consulting firm that works at the intersection of market research and marketing strategy to help industry-leading, Fortune 500 clients make fact-based business decisions. HawkPartners works with leading pharmaceutical and health care companies to help them better understand their customers and competitors, and to develop game-changing marketing strategies. For more information about HawkPartners, visit http://www.HawkPartners.com .

About ICARE

ICARE is an independent fieldwork marketing research agency specialized in International Healthcare Marketing Research and based in Europe. Each year the company conducts more than two hundred research studies, the vast majority being in the pharmaceutical area. Specializing in both qualitative and quantitative research techniques, ICARE is renowned for its customer service and extensive multi-country knowledge. ICARE has a long term partnership with HawkPartners. For more information about ICARE, visit http://www.iCare-mr.com .

About Center for Health Market Innovations

The Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI) studies and promotes innovative policies and practices that improve health care delivery in developing countries. For more information about CHMI, visit http://healthmarketinnovations.org/ .

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