I'm not close to the detail but I suspect that there are a lot of moving parts to this. I think the US does far more surgeries than the UK for example. Data are hard to compare especially for elective procedures because the US data are skewed towards patients with means or good insurance. Surgeons have every reason to incline to doing more surgery if there is a ready supply of insured patients.
But I suspect you are right to say that NHS surgeons are more likely to be limited by theatre time. Ironically cost may well come into it too. Far more is spent per capita in the US than here I believe, disregarding who spends it.
|