研究發現醫療保健已得到改善,但變化較小

The quality of health care has gotten better in many communities across the country, though the degree of change has been relatively small, according to a national study released Thursday.

據週四發佈的一項全國性研究表明，全國各地許多社區的醫療保健質量已越來越好，但變化程度相對較小。

Researchers for the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund, who looked at conditions in 306 communities, found that health systems improved more than they worsened between 2011 and 2014. Increased insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act was a key factor — with states that expanded Medicaid to lower-income adults faring well — as was doctors and other providers scoring better on quality and efficiency measures.

在無黨派性質的聯邦基金會工作的研究員觀察了306個社區的衛生情況後，發現衛生系統的提升程度比在2011-2014年的惡化程度更高。由於平價醫療法案，各州將醫療補助擴展至生活得還不錯的低收入人羣，保險覆蓋率得到了增加，這是一個主要因素；醫生和其他提供者在質量和效率措施方面做出了更好的成績也是一個主要因素。

“These findings are encouraging,” David Blumenthal, the foundation's president, said during a news briefing. “They show that with the right policies and actions, we can make our health system work better for all of us.”

“這些研究結果十分振奮人心，”基金會的主席大衛•布盧門撒爾在新聞發佈會上說道，“他們告訴我們，有了正確的政策和行動，我們就能使我們的衛生系統更好的爲所有人服務。”

The scorecard ranked local areas using 33 measures grouped into four categories: access and affordability; prevention and treatment; avoidable hospital use and cost; and health indicators such as the death rates from certain cancers, adult obesity and infant mortality.

我們使用了33種方法，在記分卡上對地方區域進行排名。這33種方法可分爲四類：訪問權和支付能力；預防和治療；可避免的醫院使用和費用以及健康指標，例如某些癌症的死亡率，成人肥胖率和嬰兒死亡率。

Nearly all communities had more improvements than declines, but there were stark contrasts among states and regions. Communities in the upper Midwest and New England fared better than those in the South.

幾乎所有社區改善的地方都比衰落的地方要多，但是各州和各地區間還是存在着鮮明對比。位於中西部和英格蘭的社區比南部的社區改善的更好。

California and Minnesota accounted for seven of the 10 leading areas: San Mateo, San Francisco and San Jose, plus St. Paul, Rochester, St. Cloud and Minneapolis. Among areas needing the most improvement, five were in Mississippi: Jackson, Meridian, Gulfport, Oxford and Hattiesburg.

十大領先地區中，加利福尼亞州和明尼蘇達州地區佔了七個：聖馬特奧市、舊金山、聖何塞、再加上聖保羅、羅切斯特、聖克芬德和明尼阿波利斯。在最需要改進醫療保健條件的地區中，密西西比州就有5個：傑克遜、默裏迪恩、格爾夫波特、牛津和哈蒂斯堡。

The differences in health can be illustrated by one statistic: adults who lose six or more teeth to decay or gum disease. In Oxford, 21 percent do, compared with just 6 percent of adults in Honolulu, the best-performing community on the scorecard.

健康的差異可由一個數據闡明：由於蛀牙或牙齦疾病掉了至少6顆牙齒的成年人。在牛津，21%的成年人掉了至少6顆牙齒，而火奴魯魯的比率卻只有6%，火奴魯魯是記分卡上醫療保健表現最好的地區。