The UK's health care system is the most efficient, says a study of seven industrialised countries.

The Commonwealth Fund report looked at five areas of performance - quality, efficiency, access to care, equity and healthy lives.

The US came last in the overall rankings, which also included data from Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

But there is room for improvement in every country, says the report.

Remember, we're talking efficiency, not quality of service. It makes perfect sense. Everything is used all of the time as there's no give in the stystem, it's running flat out to try and cope with demand.

Exactly. How do you define "efficiency" in a health care system? There is no detail in the article, so it is meaningless. You could easily invent "statistical [strike]lies[/strike] criteria" that would change the "top ten" completely.

France isn't listed, but my personal experience is that the French system offers better, faster and more personal care. There are even stories that our health care is so expensive that it's cheaper for the NHS to pay for patients to travel for private care abroad.

Efficiency can be measured in outcomes for each pound spent. France can still have a better health system but it costs more so its outcomes per unit of currency. Hence a lower efficiency.