Elsewhere on this site today, we bring you a brief from The Economist—its editors’ opinion of American conservatives’ description of their National Health Service, the magazine’s assessment of the differences and the bottom line as they see it.

Both systems need work, the write.  Correctly, the editors say that comparing health systems is tricky, which, indeed, it is.

Why is it tricky?

Well, here are a few examples we know about.

Data matters. Life spans (length of life).  Access to care at the appropriate time (a face lift and cancer surgery are not comparable in urgency, for instance, although both are surgical procedures).  Patients’ quality of life over their lifetimes.  Costs to every party to a care expense (patient, employer, plan or governments).

Patient satisfaction does, too.  By national patient satisfaction, we mean whether the people have a relative degree of confidence in a system which they must rely on, often with no notice.

The Brits’ love of its system is an informal, but important, indicator of the way the NHS is doing.

America’s size, our population diversity, differences in medical cultures and a host of other variables do not point to the NHS as our model.

It has been our view that we need our own model based on our unique needs.

That is what is being debated now. What is that model? Do enough people agree that we should choose it? We shall see.

In the meantime, the temperature in Britain is rising fast, and we are not referring to the weather.

The New York Times

…“These are lies, outrageous lies,” said Dr. Michael Rawlins, chairman of Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, in an interview. Known as NICE, Dr. Rawlins’s organization decides which treatments Britain’s National Health Service can afford and which it cannot. (Emphasis added)

“Conservatives in the United States have made a particular point of criticizing NICE. The Wall Street Journal editorial page described NICE as a “rationing board” and wrote: “Americans should understand how NICE works because under ObamaCare it will eventually be coming to a hospital near you.” (Emphasis added)

“Dr. Rawlins said that his organization ensures that the N.H.S. uses the best medicine possible within its limited budget. He was particularly incensed by a recent comment by Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who said that Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat who is suffering brain cancer, would not receive the same treatment in countries that ration health care.” (Emphasis added)

Source: New York Times, August 21, 2009