Healthcare in North America Industry Statistics

The healthcare industry is one of the many high-risk industries around the world, including North America. Do you keep up with the latest in the healthcare industry?

Did you know…

• The United States spends a whopping sum on health care
• The total U.S. healthcare expenditure in 2015 was $3.2 trillion, per the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; at that level, it accounted for 17.8% of our gross domestic product (GDP)
• The U.S. spent about $9,990 per person on health care, as of 2015, per the Centers for Disease Control
• In 2015, Medicare spending totaled $646 billion, making up about a fifth of our total national health care spending
• Only 20% goes towards physician services, with hospitals getting the biggest chunk
• Between 2014 and 2015, spending on prescription drugs grew by 9% to $325 billion; that’s an alarmingly fast growth rate, but it’s slower than the 12% growth rate from the year before
• Of the US national health care spending, the federal government shouldered 28.9% of the total amount, while households forked over 27.7% and private businesses 19.9%
• There were recently 5,564 registered hospitals in the U.S., per the American Hospital Association; some 2,845 of them were non-profit community hospitals, while 1,034 were for-profit (i.e. investor-owned) community hospitals
• There were recently nearly 900,000 staffed beds in U.S. registered hospitals, 87% of which were in community hospitals
• There were recently 923,308 professionally active physicians in America
• The median salary for nurse practitioners in 2016 was $68,450, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• According to the Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. ranked last in a study of 11 developed nations when it comes to the performance of our healthcare system
• There were about 57 million Americans without health insurance before the ACA took effect
• According to the Department of Health and Human Services, patient-safety initiatives have saved more than 87,000 lives and $20 billion between 2010 and 2014
• There is a 1 in a million chance of a person being harmed while travelling by plane; in comparison, there is a 1 in 300 chance of a patient being harmed during health care
• 15% of health spending is wasted dealing with all aspects of adverse events
• Hospital infections affect 14 out of every 100 patients admitted

Where can I get more information?