Emergency departments are the front line of health care systems and play a critical role in ensuring an efficient and high-quality response for patients in stress or crisis situations. A growing demand for emergency care might however reduce patients’ satisfaction (through waiting times),...

Although a wide range of studies have tackled the outputs of social capital, fewer efforts have so far been dedicated to unveil its inputs. This study provides new empirical evidence on the determinants of social capital. The assumption to be tested is that the influence of “length of...

Out-of-hours (OOH) services provide urgent primary care when primary care physician (PCP) offices are closed, most often from 5pm on weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays. Based on a policy survey (covering 27 OECD countries) and the existing literature, the working paper describes the...

The COVID 19 pandemic has disproportionately hit some vulnerable population groups. Those living in deprived areas, migrant population, and ethnic minorities are at higher risk of catching and dying from the virus than other groups, and they also face significant indirect health impacts of the...

Ensuring equal access to the latest cancer medicines is one of the most pressing challenges facing OECD health systems today. Despite the emergence of new oncology drugs, disparities in patient access—particularly through clinical trials and early access programs—remain a critical issue....

European health care systems are facing diverse challenges. In health policy, strong primary care is seen as key to deal with these challenges. European countries differ in how strong their primary care systems are. Two groups of traditionally weak primary care systems are distinguished. First a...

[fre] Lorsque les modalités de réponse à une question d'évaluation subjective sont utilisées différemment par des répondants, on dit que celles-ci sont affectées par un « biais d'item » ou par un effet de type DIF (Differential Item Functioning). Les réponses doivent alors être...

Objectives Since 2006 France experiences an innovative version of Gate-keeping which aims at regulating access to outpatient specialist care. We describe the reform's initial objectives, the political pathway which lead to the implementation of a reshaped reform and discuss the first outcomes...

[fre] Cet article justifie l'idée d'un financement collectif et obligatoire des dépenses de soins, en rappelant les deux arguments sur lesquels elle est fondée (efficacité et équité), puis en tentant de répondre aux 3 tendances visant aujourd'hui à en limiter le champ (définition du...