Report Says Indiana Healthcare System Is Improving, Slowly

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INDIANAPOLIS — A new report says Indiana’s healthcare system is slowly improving, but still ranks 36th in the nation for overall quality care.

David Radley, a senior scientist for the Commonwealth Fund, says Indiana is struggling with what are called “deaths of despair.”

“These are deaths from suicide, alcohol use, and drug abuse,” Radley said. “What we also see in Indiana is a high rate of deaths by drug overdose. Infant mortality and obesity rates are also well above average.”

The 2019 Scorecard on State Health System Performance looks at dozens of healthcare metrics including covering access, costs of care, health outcomes, and income-based health care disparities.

The report said Indiana made great improvements in increasing coverage for adults and children. One of its best improvements were in prevention and treatment services, but the state still needs to work on smoking rates and drug overdose deaths.

“What’s most concerning is that the rate of overdose in Indiana has tripled between 2005 and 2017,” Radley added.

Indiana is also one of the states with the highest rate of adults failing to seek recommended cancer screenings and is also among states that have the lowest vaccination rates.

 

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