New Research on Health System Innovations from Around the World
<p>Visit The Commonwealth Fund's International Health Policy Center to download these new publications highlighting health system innovations from around the world: </p>
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<a href="/publications/issue-briefs/2011/nov/electronic-health-records-international-perspective-meaningful">Electronic Health Records: An International Perspective on "Meaningful Use."</a> Bradford H. Gray, Thomas Bowden, Ib Johansen, and Sabine Koch. The U.S. has embarked on a major effort to achieve "meaningful use" of health information technology, including electronic health records (EHRs), by clinicians and hospitals. In this study, researchers examined how Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden managed to put in place the policies, financing, and practice support needed to achieve high levels of EHR adoption. Learn how: nearly all primary care physicians in Denmark have acquired EHR systems with full clinical functionality; most New Zealand health care organizations make extensive use of electronic messaging services to exchange clinical information; and Sweden is moving toward a single EHR for primary care and hospital use.</p>
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<a href="/publications/issue-briefs/2011/nov/strengthening-primary-care-recent-reforms-and-achievements">Strengthening Primary Care: Recent Reforms and Achievements in Australia, England, and the Netherlands.</a> Sharon Willcox, Geraint Lewis, and Jako Burgers. With their track records of strong performance, the well-developed primary care systems of Australia, England, and the Netherlands offer some potentially useful lessons for the U.S. as it seeks to expand its primary care capacity. This issue brief evaluates primary care performance in the three nations and examines major strategies implemented for enhancing access, strengthening coordination of care and management of chronic illness, and linking provider reimbursement more closely with quality and efficiency.</p>
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<a href="/publications/fund-reports/2011/nov/international-profiles-health-care-systems-australia-canada">International Profiles of Health Care Systems, 2011.</a> Edited by Sarah Thomson, Robin Osborn, David Squires, and Sarah Jane Reed. Learn all about the health care systems of 14 advanced nations: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. The health system overviews, prepared by leading experts in each country, cover health insurance, public and private financing, health system organization, and provider payment. Each profile also features recent national reforms and innovations to improve quality of care, efficiency, and integration; reduce health disparities; increase meaningful use of health information technology; encourage evidence-based practice; and contain costs.</p>