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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

Expenditure by disease and age

Attributing health care expenditure by disease and age is important for health policy makers in order to analyse resource allocations in the health care system. The information provided can play an important role in assessing the impact of ageing populations and changing disease patterns on spending. It can also provide input into the modelling of future health care expenditures (Heijink et al., 2006). Furthermore, the linking of health expenditures by disease to appropriate measures of outputs (e.g. hospital discharges by disease) and outcomes (e.g. survival rates after heart attack or cancer) can provide useful input in monitoring the performance of health care systems at a disease-based level (AIHW, 2005).

English Also available in: German, French

Graphs

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