A recent study by Commonwealth Fund compared healthcare systems of six Western countries (United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and Germany) and found US the worst in every category.

Now that is really comforting.

The study was based on patient surveys. Americans report the lowest level of satisfaction and the greatest frustrations with medical errors, lack of care coordination between providers and the highest out-of-pocket costs. Is it your perception too?

In commenting to Washington Post, Lucian L. Leape of the Harvard School of Public Health, says that the study "... provides confirming evidence for what more and more health policy thinkers have been saying, which is, 'The American health care system is quietly imploding, and it's about time we did something about it,' ".

Here are some of the scariest highlights:

• 60% errors happen outside hospitals
• the more physicians are involved in a patient's care, the greater the chance of error
• 61% to 83% of the patients said providers did not tell them about mistakes

So this is the reality and it is in stark contrast with how the system should work in the ideal world. If there is a silver lining, it is that there is no more hiding of the problem and the frustration of the public is reaching the boiling point. What about you?

The full study can be found here.