Reviewed by Abbie Jacobs, RN, BSN

Then and Now: Medicine From 1950 To Today

 

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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