| I'm questioning why you picked Cuba when most other developing countries are worse. I'm not saying it's great. I'm asking why you picked on the standard American boogieman country. > "'Longevity' is not in any way a measure of the quality of healthcare" ... Life expectancy and child mortality are two commonly used proxies for the quality of healthcare. > "Can you tell me how many functional CT scanners they have in Cuba? They have one for Fidel & Co. but the economics of it imply the number is de-facto 0." You cannot argue that it's simple economics. The US embargo also has an effect. As https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-cuba-u-s-relat... points out: > Since 2003 more than three dozen companies, including Philips Electronics of North America Corp., have faced penalties due to violations of the travel embargo, according to the Congressional Research Service. The change could also mean more consistent medical scanning options for research. Direct imports of medical supplies from the U.S. have remained rare, and sometimes Cuba has run up against difficulties even getting spare parts. At one point, CT scanners, angiography and ultrasound equipment from Philips—technologies common in health care facilities around Cuba—were lying idle, leaving patients with few options for three years, according to The Lancet Neurology. I contrast the SciAm statement that CT scanners are "common in health care facilities around Cuba" with your statement that is is de facto 0, based on purely economic reasons. I found http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1215226 which says "A neurologist reports that his hospital got a CT scanner only 12 years ago." and http://www.martinews.com/a/cuba-sells-medical-services-100-c... shows a Siemens CT scanner at the Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery of Havana. In 1997 Calixto Garcia also has a CT scannner, says http://dx.doi.org.sci-hub.cc/10.1016/S0735-6757(97)90143-1 . I think it's safe to conclude that there is more than 1 scanner in Cuba. > "There is absolutely no preponderance of Canadians going to Cuba for medical care" Never said there was. Indeed, I said that many more went to India. One of those links suggested why - there are relatively few English speakers in Cuba. |