Health at a Glance 2007
A very interesting report on the discrepencies in health care has just been published by the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development—an organisation which states on its website that it brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy). There are 30 member countries of the OECD and the 2007 edition of Health at a Glance highlights the differences in the performance of their healthcare systems, and massive differences in the amount governments spend on health. If you get a chance, have a look at the report yourselves, but here are some of the edited highlights:
Chronic disease prevention and treatment
—Annual eye exams is the standard care for people with diabetes, yet just over half get their eyes checked. In the United Kingdom, the best-performing country on this measure, almost one-sixth of people with diabetes do not have this simple and beneficial test.
—Despite better treatment options to prevent acute asthma attacks, on average, 6 out of 10 000 adults in OECD countries are admitted to hospitals for asthma every year. Relatively high rates are reported in Finland (13 per 10 000 adults) and the United States (12 per 10 000 adults). In countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand, asthma is one of the top 20 conditions leading to hospital admission.
Quality of Healthcare
—In New Zealand and Australia, only 5 to 6% of people admitted for myocardial infarction died in hospital within 30 days, while death rates are much higher in Mexico (25%).
—Similarly, the in-hospital death rate within 30 days following admission for (ischemic) stroke is relatively low in Japan (3%), the United Kingdom (6%), Iceland (6%) and Finland (6%), in comparison with Canada (13%), Korea (15%) and Mexico (20%). In general, countries with better survival rates for ischemic stroke also do well on survival rates for hemorrhagic stroke. This finding is unsurprising, given that the initial steps of care are identical for both types of stroke.
—Survival rates five years after a diagnosis for breast cancer are higher than average in Nordic countries (Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark), as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia. These are all countries where a high proportion of 50-69 year-old women undergo annual mammography screening. As for other types of cancer, early detection is a key determinant of survival rates.
Health Expenditure
—In 2005, the highest spending country was, by far, the United States, devoting 6400 US$ per capita to health expenditure. This was more than twice the OECD average (2760 US$, adjusted for purchasing power parity). Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland also spend far more than the OECD average.
—In Turkey, Mexico and Poland, health expenditure was less than one-third the OECD average.
—Although countries with higher GDP tend to spend more on health, there is a wide variation. Japan and Germany have the same GDP per capita but their health spending per capita differs considerably, with Japan spending 25% less than Germany.
The public sector continues to be the main source of health financing in all OECD countries, apart from Mexico, the United States and Greece. On average, the public share of health spending was 73% in 2005.
Very illuminating findings. Now we just need to try and make sense of it all! Rhona