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Health at a Glance 2009

OECD Indicators

image of Health at a Glance 2009
This fifth edition of Health at a Glance provides the latest comparable data on different aspects of the performance of health systems in OECD countries. It provides striking evidence of large variations across countries in the costs, activities and results of health systems. Key indicators provide information on health status, the determinants of health, health care activities and health expenditure and financing in OECD countries.

This edition also contains new chapters on the health workforce and on access to care, an important policy objective in all OECD countries. The chapter on quality of care has been extended to include a set of indicators on the quality of care for chronic conditions.

Each indicator in the book is presented in a user-friendly format, consisting of charts illustrating variations across countries and over time, brief descriptive analyses highlighting the major findings conveyed by the data, and a methodological box on the definition of the indicator and any limitations in data comparability. An annex provides additional information on the demographic and economic context within which health systems operate, as well as a concise description of key characteristics in health system financing and delivery of services in OECD countries.

English Also available in: French, German, Korean

Pharmaceutical consumption

The consumption of pharmaceuticals is increasing across OECD countries not only in terms of expenditure (see Indicator 7.4 “Pharmaceutical expenditure”), but also in terms of volume (or quantity) of drugs consumed. One of the factors contributing to the rise in pharmaceutical consumption is the ageing of the population, which leads to growing demand for drugs to treat or at least control different ageing-related diseases. But the trend rise in pharmaceutical consumption is also observed in countries where the population ageing process is less advanced, indicating that other factors such as physicians’ prescription habits or the degree of cost-sharing with patients also play a role.

English Also available in: French, German

Graphs

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