Innovations from Abroad: Special Issue of Health Affairs

April 8, 2013 - Countries around the world have realized some success in achieving the "Triple Aim" of health care: better health and better health care at lower cost. A series of Commonwealth Fund–supported articles in the April 2013 issue of Health Affairs describes the lessons these successes hold for the U.S. health care system.

Other

Higher U.S. Branded Drug Prices and Spending Compared to Other Countries May Stem Partly from Quick Uptake of New Drugs

April 8, 2013 - In this Commonwealth Fund–supported study, researchers examined variation in drug prices among selected OECD countries in three years to determine which nations paid the highest prices for brand-name drugs.

In the Literature

Europe's Strong Primary Care Systems Are Linked to Better Population Health But Also to Higher Health Spending

April 8, 2013 - Commonwealth Fund–supported researchers analyzed data collected in Europe to see whether stronger primary care systems were associated with higher performance on measures of population health, efficiency, and socioeconomic inequality.

In Brief

Health Care Cost Containment Strategies Used in Four Other High-Income Countries Hold Lessons for the United States

April 8, 2013 - Researchers supported by The Commonwealth Fund reviewed the range of strategies used to contain health system costs in Canada, England, France, and Germany.

In Brief

Compared to U.S. Practice, Evidence-Based Reviews in Europe Appear to Lead to Lower Prices for Some Drugs

April 8, 2013 - In this Commonwealth Fund–supported study, researchers compared approval and reimbursement decisions in the U.S. and in four European countries for 29 cancer drugs between 2000 and 2011.

In the Literature

Multinational Comparisons of Health Systems Data, 2012

March 22, 2013 - This updated Commonwealth Fund chartbook uses data collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to compare the health care systems and performance across several industrialized countries.

Chartbook

Health Care for Undocumented Migrants: European Approaches

December 6, 2012 - This issue brief examines how undocumented migrants' access to care is handled in European health systems. Policies and practices vary greatly across countries and have become issues of intense debate.

Issue Brief

International Profiles of Health Care Systems: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States

November 19, 2012 - Read overviews of the health care systems of 15 countries—Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

Fund Report

A Survey of Primary Care Doctors in Ten Countries Shows Progress in Use of Health Information Technology, Less in Other Areas

November 15, 2012 - More than two-thirds of U.S. primary care physicians were using electronic medical records in 2012, a substantial increase from 2009, when less than half had adopted the technology, a new Commonwealth Fund survey finds. But results also depict the U.S. as an outlier when it comes to affordability of health care.

In the Literature

In Amenable Mortality—Deaths Avoidable Through Health Care—Progress in the U.S. Lags That of Three European Countries

August 29, 2012 - Compared with France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, the United States has a higher rate of potentially preventable deaths. Moreover, the pace of improvement in preventing deaths that could have been avoided with timely and effective health care is slowest in the U.S., according to this Commonwealth Fund–supported analysis.

In the Literature

Oceans Apart: The Higher Health Costs of Women in the U.S. Compared to Other Nations, and How Reform Is Helping

July 13, 2012 - Twenty percent of U.S. women ages 19 to 64 were uninsured in 2010, up from 15 percent in 2000. This issue brief examines the implications of poor coverage for women in the United States by comparing their experiences to those of women in 10 other industrialized nations, all of which have universal health insurance systems.

Issue Brief

Explaining High Health Care Spending in the United States: An International Comparison of Supply, Utilization, Prices, and Quality

May 3, 2012 - This Commonwealth Fund analysis of 13 industrialized countries finds the U.S. spends far more on health care than any other country. However this high spending cannot be attributed to higher income, an older population, or greater supply or utilization of hospitals and doctors. Instead, the findings suggest the higher spending is more likely due to higher prices and perhaps more readily accessible technology and greater obesity.

Issue Brief

Using Comparative Effectiveness Research to Inform Policymaking

April 5, 2012 - As the comparative effectiveness research (CER) becomes more widely available in the U.S., decision-makers can learn from international experiences using CER to drive health care toward improved quality and value.

International Innovation

International Perspectives on Patient Engagement: Results from the 2011 Commonwealth Fund Survey

March 29, 2012 - An international survey of adults with complex health care needs found wide variations in the degree to which patients are engaged in their own care, from self-managing a health condition to actively participating in treatment decisions.

In the Literature

Multinational Comparisons of Health Systems Data, 2011

December 27, 2011 - This updated Commonwealth Fund chartbook uses data collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to compare the health care systems and performance across several industrialized countries.

Chartbook