Survey: Half of Americans fed up with medical paperwork

Percentage of Americans who find it frustrating waiting at their doctors' offices or hospitals, according to NCR Corp.'s 2009 Self-Service Consumer Survey conducted by BuzzBack Market Research: 76

Percentage who are fed up with completing paperwork and filling out multiple forms: 50

Percentage of respondents who said they were more likely to choose a health care provider that reduced frustration by providing the flexibility to interact easily via online, mobile and kiosk: 70

Finances and health care

When asked in an open-ended question to name the most important financial problem facing their families today, percentage of Americans who said low wages and a lack of money, according to a Gallup poll: 17

Percentage who said health care costs: 14

Percentage who said "too much debt": 10

Percentage who said the cost of renting or owning a home: 9

On the heavy side

Percentage of Americans who are above their ideal weight, according to a Gallup poll: 60

Of the majority of Americans who report being heavier than their ideal weight or who say they would like to lose weight, percentage who are seriously trying to lose weight at this time: 27

U.S. care trends

Projected percentage of gross domestic product represented by U.S. health care costs by 2010, according to a Gallup Poll: 21

Percentage of Americans who would consider traveling abroad for medical procedures such as heart bypass surgery, hip or knee replacement, plastic surgery, cancer diagnosis and treatment, or alternative medical care, even though all are routinely done in the U.S.: 29

Assuming equal quality and significantly lower cost, percentage who said they would be willing to travel abroad for medical procedures: 40

Long-term disability expenses

Estimated financial cost of disability for a 40-year-old single male earning $50,000 per year who suffers a long-term disability lasting until age 65, according to a study released by Life and America's Health Insurance Plans: $1 million

Number of times earnings prior to a disability that this represents: 20

Percentage of Americans who admit they would begin having difficulty supporting themselves financially "immediately" following a disability: 27

Percentage who say they would reach that point within a month: 49

Regular exertion

Percentage of Americans who are getting 30 minutes of exercise five or more days per week, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index: 27

Percentage who report exercising for at least 30 minutes on three or four of the last seven days: 24

Percentage who report exercising for at least 30 minutes less than three days per week: 49

Pain and productivity

Amount of money lost annually by businesses due to ineffective pain care and the lack of optimal pain care delivery, according to a Pain Medicine Position Paper published by leaders of the American Academy of Pain Medicine: $61 billion

Cost to businesses in lost productive time for back pain alone: $19.8 billion

Idle Thought

"No sensible decision can be madeany longer without taking intoaccount not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be."

-Isaac AsimovJohn MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His "Figuratively Speaking" column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.