Reviewed by Abbie Jacobs, RN, BSN
The editors at Best Nursing Masters Degrees decided to research the topic of:
Then and Now: Medicine From 1950 To Today
In the past 60 years, almost everything about medicine and the medical industry has changed, from health to science.
Vital Signs
Average lifespan
– Then: 68.2 years
– Now: 78.6 years
Being born
Total births
– Then: 3,632,000
– Now: 4,131,019
Birth rate per 1,000 population
– Then: 24.1
– Now: 13.8
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births
– Then: 29.2
– Now: 6.9
Dying
Deaths per 100,000 population
– Cause – Then – Now
– Tuberculosis – 22.5 – 0.2
– Cancer – 139.8 – 188.7
– Cardiovascular diseases – 510.8 – 288.8
– Influenza and pneumonia – 31.3 – 21.3
– Auto accidents – 23.1 – 15.3
Youth suicides (age 15-19) per 100,000 population
– Then: 2.7
– Now: 7.3
Heart disease deaths per 100,000 population
– Then: 307.4
– Now: 193.6
Diabetes cases (percentage of population)
– Then: 300,000 (0.01%)
– Now: 2,500,000 (8.3%)
Vaccine-preventable diseases
Polio
– Then: 57,879
– Now: 0
Tetanus
– Then: 486
– Now: 9
Pertussis
– Then: 120,718
– Now: 15,216
Healthcare Costs
Per-capita health expenditures
– Then: $134*
– Now: $8,953
– * Not adjusted for inflation
Total health expenditures as portion of GDP
– Then: 4.6%
– Now: 17%
Insurance and government portion of payments
– Then: 44%
– Now: 86%
Employment
Total physicians
– Then: 219,900
– Now: 838,473
Hospital-based physicians
– Then: 14%
– Now: 42%
Female doctors
– Then: 6%
– Now: 30%
Hospitalizations
Inpatient days per 1,000 population
– Then: 899
– Now: 633
Average length of stay
– Then: 8.25 days
– Now: 5.43 days
The Cutting Edge
Medical technology, discoveries and innovations.
Then
– Cardiac pacemaker
– Polio vaccine
– DNA structure
– Bypass machine
– Organ transplant
– Pencil and paper record system
Now
– Full face transplant
– 3D organ printers
– Baby cured of HIV
– Liver grown from stem cells
– Robotic surgery
– Electronic health records
SOURCES
– Google Public Data
– http://www.infoplease.com
– http://www.suicide.org
– http://www.nvic.org
– http://www.cdc.gov
– http://www.cms.gov
– http://www.forbes.com
– http://www.nejm.org