Both U.S. and international studies show that the more a healthcare system relies on primary care, the better the outcomes and the lower the cost. But American medicine is heavy on specialists and getting heavier. In just the last eight years, the number of graduates of U.S. medical schools choosing careers in family practice and adult primary care has plummeted by more than half.

About one-third of medical spending is now devoted to services that don't appear to improve health or the quality of care and may make things worse. This means that the U.S. is wasting more than $650 billion a year on unnecessary and often harmful care. The facts show that these enormous expenditures may be buying us the best amenities in medical care — but not the best health.

Even though Americans spend twice as much per person on healthcare as the other 21 wealthiest countries, data from the World Health Organization show that we live the shortest amount of time in good health — 2 1/2 years less than the average in the other countries (69.3 versus 71.8 years).

From LA Times OpEd Piece, November 3, 2006 Healthcare Code Blue By John Abramson, a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, and the author of "Overdosed America."