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I was recently contacted by Adam Lee from the American Academy of Family Physicians about a new survey of American women and our health care system. Based on the results of this survey American women want a health care system that offers convenience and continuity. Unfortunately that is not what they usually encounter when they seek health care for themselves, their children, spouses or adult relatives.

Here is a video that explains it a little better.



The poll which was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the AAFP, obtained responses from 1,193 American women who said they were the primary health care decision makers for themselves and/or their family members. Questions focused on their past experiences with the health care system and what attributes are most important to them.

60 percent of the women polled said that they faced challenges in obtaining health care for themselves and or their family. Here's what the survey found:



* 43 percent of the respondents said they have had to fill out complete patient histories and other forms at each medical provider’s office;
* 26 percent said they have had to inform one medical provider what another had recommended or diagnosed;
* 16 percent have had to carry lab reports, x-rays and other test results from one medical provider’s office to another;
* 11 percent have received contradictory recommendations from different medical providers; and
* nearly 10 percent have had to repeat lab tests unnecessarily because of lack of communication between medical providers.

An executive summary of the AAFP poll results is available online at www.aafp.org/media/fixhealthcare.