Advanced Comparison

• Senior medical consultants often need to compare health systems, expenditures, and clinical outcomes precisely. We use specialized structures to express equivalence, vast differences, or conceptual distinctions.
• Structure
• Function
• Example
• every bit as…
• Expressing absolute equivalence
• The Boston clinic is every bit as efficient as the London hospital.
• nowhere near as…
• Expressing significant inferiority
• Our waiting list is nowhere near as long as theirs.
• a far cry from…
• Expressing a stark contrast
• Today's universal coverage is a far cry from the old system.
• more of a… than a…
• Redefining a concept
• This is more of a financial crisis than a clinical one.
• twice the size of
• Exact proportional comparison
• The new Chicago facility is twice the size of the Seattle center.
• Remember
• Use 'every bit as' followed by an adjective and 'as' to show two things are identical in degree.
• Use 'nowhere near as' with an adjective to highlight that something falls significantly short of another.
• Use 'a far cry from' with a noun phrase to emphasize a complete transformation or distance in quality.
• Use 'more of a [X] than a [Y]' to correct or nuance a characterisation.
• Examples
• Dr. Evans noted that the Massachusetts General Hospital is every bit as prestigious as St. Thomas' Hospital in London.
• The current out-of-pocket costs are nowhere near as manageable as the ministry claimed.
• Modern primary care gatekeeping is a far cry from the chaotic walk-in clinics of the past.
• This administrative overhaul is more of a bureaucratic burden than a clinical improvement.
• Common mistakes
• The clinic is every bit as good than the hospital.
• The clinic is every bit as good as the hospital.
• Our budget is nowhere near larger as theirs.
• Our budget is nowhere near as large as theirs.

Complete the sentences

• Dr. Miller's new research facility in Philadelphia is (every bit) ____ the laboratory in Cambridge.
• The regional health expenditure in Chicago is (nowhere near) ____ that in the Manchester trust.
• Today's insurance-based system in New York is (far cry) ____ the national health service in Edinburgh.
• Handling co-payment disputes is (more of) ____ medical issue.
• The clinical audit department in Los Angeles is (twice) ____ the unit in Bristol.
• The private insurer in Houston is (every bit) ____ the regulatory body in London.

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