Health at a Glance 2017
OECD Indicators
This new edition of Health at a Glance presents the most recent comparable data on the health status of populations and health system performance in OECD countries. Where possible, it also reports data for partner countries (Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, Russian Federation and South Africa). The data presented in this publication come from official national statistics, unless otherwise stated.
This edition contains a range of new indicators, particularly on risk factors for health. It also places greater emphasis on time trend analysis. Alongside indicator-by-indicator analysis, this edition offers snapshots and dashboard indicators that summarise the comparative performance of countries, and a special chapter on the main factors driving life expectancy gains.
Prescribing in primary care
Prescribing can be used as an indicator of health care quality supplementing consumption and expenditure information (see ). Antibiotics, for example, should be prescribed only where there is an evidence based need to reduce the risk of resistant strains. Likewise, quinolones and cephalosporins are considered second-line antibiotics in most prescribing guidelines. They should generally be used only when first line antibiotics are ineffective. Total volume of antibiotics prescribed, and second-line antibiotics as a proportion of total volume have been validated as markers of quality in the primary care setting.
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