Concerns about health expenditure growth and its long-term sustainability have stimulated the development of health expenditure forecasting models in many OECD countries. This comparative analysis reviewed 25 models that were developed by, or used...

Harmful alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of ill health and premature mortality worldwide. This paper illustrates trends and social disparities in alcohol consumption and harmful drinking in 20 OECD countries. Analyses are based on...

Norway is one of the top spenders on health care among OECD countries in per capita terms but much closer to the average when seen as a share of GDP. The question is to what extent these two key measures are compatible, and how Norway really measures...

Alcohol policies have significant potential to curb alcohol-related harms, improve health, increase productivity, reduce crime and violence, and cut government expenditure. The WHO Global Strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol provides a menu...

Telemedicine is being used across OECD countries to deliver health care in a wide range of specialties, for numerous conditions and through varied means. A growing body of evidence suggests that care delivered via telemedicine can be both safe and...

With rapid advancements in oncology, even the wealthiest countries around the globe find it increasingly challenging to provide – and sustain – access to new medicines. Challenges include managing the uncertainty surrounding the extent of benefit of...

Health services account for a large and increasing share of production and expenditure in OECD and Eurostat countries but there are also noticeable differences between countries in expenditure per capita. Whether such differences are due to more...

Health services account for a large and increasing share of production and expenditure in OECD countries but there are also noticeable differences between countries in expenditure per capita. Whether such differences are due to more services consumed...

As the number of older persons in need of long-term care increases, efforts to support older persons remaining in their home are intensified in most OECD countries. In this context of ageing in place, there is a movement towards allowing more...

While health care quality has been improving on average in OECD members countries, patient safety remains a central priority for policy makers and health care leaders. A growing research body has found that PSC is associated with numerous positive...

Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviours have been rising throughout the OECD in recent decades. Lack of physical activity and excessive sedentary behaviour are well-known risk factors for non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases,...

Health care expenditure per person, after accounting for changes in overall price levels, began to slow in many OECD countries in the early-to-mid 2000s, well before the economic and fiscal crisis. Using available estimates from the OECD’s System of...

Dementia and its most common manifestation, Alzheimer’s disease, is a complex disorder that afflicts primarily the elderly, affecting an estimated 10 million people in OECD member countries. The complexity of the disease makes treating dementia...

This paper provides a description of the classification systems used to measure hospital services in selected OECD countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom (England), and the United States. Three classifications are...

Prevalence of non-communicable diseases has increased in past decades in the OECD. These conditions have many risk factors, including poor quality diet, insufficient physical activity, and excess sedentarism. These behaviours are also at the root of...

An epidemic of obesity has been developing in virtually all OECD countries over the last 30 years. Existing evidence provides strong suggestions that such epidemic has affected certain social groups more than others. In particular, education appears...

Sometimes it is argued that the content of a reform is less important in determining whether or not it receives public and legislative approval than the timing of the proposal; the way in which the reform is presented; the discussions with...

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...

Digital technologies offer unique opportunities to strengthen health systems. However, the digital infrastructure only provide the tools, which on their own cannot transform the health systems, but need to be put to productive use by health workers....

Assessing the direct and indirect health impact of the COVID 19 pandemic is central in managing public health and other policy measures while learning to co-exist with the virus. Many countries are publishing statistics on COVID 19 related mortality....