The independent study of quality of care involved 8,688 people age 50 and older and looked at 13 different health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, depression and osteoarthritis.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia studied whether effective healthcare interventions were received by people age 50 and over with serious health conditions.

They used questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and medical-panel endorsed quality-of-care indicators, for both public and privately provided care, as part of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, showed huge variations by health condition in whether people with particular health conditions received the appropriate intervention or care they should. Sixty-two percent of the care recommended for older adults was actually received.

Treatment for ischemic heart disease rated well, with 83 percent of appropriate care actually being given, but 29 percent of recommended care was received by people with osteoarthritis.