On 05/28/10 12:08 pm, Peter wrote:

I admit that the Walter Reed Medical Center is a top-notch facility (of
course it treats members of congress, but that's just a coincidence).
On the
other hand, VA hospitals, in the main, rank somewhere between the the
UK's
NHS and Cuba.

It's not just Walter Reed. I have personal knowledge of standards and
delivery of care at many military treatment facilities, and not just at
the major military medical centers. I've never practiced in, inspected,
or visited one that was as poor or inferior as many private community
hospitals that I've also known. And, private community hospitals form
the backbone of this country's inpatient infrastructure.

And the non-government nature of these hospitals does not guarantee
efficiency. Officials and board members of non-profits can waste money
on empire-building. We have two non-profit hospitals with about 6 miles
of each other. The smaller of the two relocated into a fancy new
facility a couple of years ago, and now the larger of the two is
constructing a facility less than a mile from the smaller hospital's new
facility.

Perce