Medical Technology in the Big Healthcare Picture

Originally Published MDDI December 2004

Medtech Snapshot

General Healthcare

Medical Technology in the Big Healthcare Picture

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation's health has improved overall, in part due to the resources that have been devoted to health education, public health programs, health research, and healthcare.

Improved healthcare technologies, procedures, and medicines have also reduced mortality and morbidity associated with many chronic diseases and conditions. The cost of these advances, however, has been considerable, says CDC's “Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans.”

Total healthcare expenditures were $1.5 trillion in 2002, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. More than one-third of the nation's spending falls to public agencies. In 2002, national health expenditures increased 9.3% and will climb an average of 7.3% to reach $3.4 trillion by 2013, according to HDMA (see chart at right). The charts on this page provide a view of U.S. healthcare expenditures and the expected growth rate over the next decade.

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