People in OECD countries are healthier than ever before, as shown by longer life expectancy and lower mortality for diseases such as cancer. At the same time, total spending on health care now absorbs over 9% of GDP on average in the OECD. Achieving value for money in the health care sector is...

This report reviews the quality of health care in Sweden. It begins by providing an overview of the range of policies and practices aimed at supporting quality of care in Sweden (Chapter 1). It then focuses on three key areas particularly relevant to elderly populations: strengthening primary...

Mental ill-health affects millions of people, and drives economic costs of more than 4% of GDP. A good mental health system helps people stay in good mental health, and connects those in need to appropriate support to manage their mental health condition or even fully recover from it. However,...

How can we measure the performance of different health systems, and how can we use such information to support on-going health systems improvement? Those are the central questions addressed in this volume. Health policy makers have a growing interest in finding ways of encouraging health systems...

In developing countries, 6 out of 10 people die from infectious diseases. Nearly 1 billion humans suffer from a neglected infectious disease, according to the World Health Organisation. Yet less than 1% of the new drugs placed on the market from 1975 to the turn of the century were developed for...

Are breast cancer survival rates higher in the United States than in the United Kingdom and France? Are a patient's chances of dying within 30 days after admission to a hospital with a heart attack lower in Canada than in Korea? Are surgeons in some countries more likely to leave “foreign...