Health Data

Work on health data covers a wide range of policy relevant topics, from population health status and non-medical determinants of health to health care resources and their utilisation.

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OECD Health Policy Studies: Pharmaceutical Pricing Policies in a Global Market

18-Sep-2008

Pharmaceutical pricing policies are designed with national objectives in mind, but are the transnational implications always taken into account? This report assesses how pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies have contributed to the achievement of certain health policy objectives. It examines the national and transnational effects of these policies, in particular, their implications for the availability of medicines in other countries, the prices of these medicines, and innovation in the pharmaceutical sector.

Migration policies of health professionals in France

03-Oct-2008

This report (Health Working Paper No. 36) examines health workforce demographics in France, together with recent trends in migration policies regarding health professionals. It also analyses workforce planning and the possible role of the recruitment of foreign health workers in coming years.

Immigration of Health Professionals to Italy

02-Oct-2008

The Italian population is aging rapidly, raising and changing the demand for care. At the same time, and due to the same trend, the number of Italians entering the labour force is declining. The health care system therefore finds itself in difficulty. The main difficulty lies in finding the human resources. This paper (Health Working Paper No. 34) examines these issues.

Nurse Workforce Challenges in the United States

02-Oct-2008

The United States has the largest professional nurse workforce in the world numbering close to 3 million but does not produce enough nurses to meet its growing demand. A shortage of close to a million professional nurses is projected to evolve by 2020. This paper (Health Working Paper No. 35) focuses on the balance between supply and demand for nurses in the United States with a particular focus on nurse migration.

Information Availability for Measuring and Comparing Quality of Mental Health Care Across OECD Countries: a new OECD Health Technical Paper

04-Sep-2008

The OECD has released a new OECD Health Technical Paper (#20). The paper was prepared to support the overall work of the Health Care Quality Indicators Project   in developing a set of indicators that can be used to raise questions for investigation concerning the quality of care across countries. It provides an overview of the present mental health care information systems in 18 OECD countries with the aim to explore the possibilities for measuring the quality of mental health care and identify potential indicators to be included in OECD’s HCQI set.

Growth in health spending slows in many OECD countries, according to OECD Health Data 2008

26-Jun-2008

A combination of slower growth in spending on healthcare and expanding economies has led to a stabilisation of health spending as a proportion of GDP in many OECD countries, according to OECD Health Data 2008.

Health Workforce and International Migration: Can New Zealand Compete?: a new OECD Health Working Paper

23-May-2008

The health workforce in New Zealand, as in all OECD countries, plays a central role in the health system. Nonetheless, maybe more than for any other OECD country, the health workforce in New Zealand cannot be considered without taking into account its international dimension. This paper (Health Working Paper No. 33) examines health workforce and migration policies in New Zealand, with a special focus on the international recruitment of doctors and nurses.

Fifth issue of Health Update

20-May-2008

Highlights the OECD enlargement process and implications for health activities. The May 2008 issue of the newsletter on OECD health-related activities also includes news on health-specific purchasing power parities, the remuneration of doctors, the prevention of lifestyle-related chronic diseases and economic reviews of the health systems of Denmark, Germany and Iceland. Features the upcoming Accra High-Level Forum that will discuss health as a tracer sector to monitor aid effectiveness. Information on key projects by other OECD Directorates.

Facilitating Cross-National Comparisons of Indicators for Patient Safety: a new OECD Health Technical Paper

08-Apr-2008

The OECD has released a new OECD Health Technical Paper (#19). The paper was prepared to support the overall work of the Health Care Quality Indicators Project  in developing a set of indicators that can be used to raise questions for investigation concerning the quality of care across countries. It provides a manual to facilitate cross national comparisons of indicators for patient safety through the provision of detailed practical advice on calculating each indicator in a selected set of Patient Safety Indicators (PSI) utilising national hospital administrative databases.

Health care is improving in OECD countries but better management of chronic diseases is necessary - only half of diabetics get needed eye screening

13-Nov-2007

The quality of medical care, measured by the provision of recommended interventions or actual health outcomes, is improving in OECD countries. Health at a Glance 2007 shows that advances in diagnosis and treatment mean that, across OECD countries, only 10% of people hospitalized after a heart attack now die within 30 days of being admitted to hospital, down from 20% in the 1980s.

Fourth issue of Health Update

08-Nov-2007

OECD Deputy Secretary-General De Geus highlights the growing importance of health for OECD countries. The November 2007 issue of the newsletter on OECD health-related activities also includes news on health care quality indicators, health workforce migration, medicines for neglected diseases, and using the health sector to monitor aid effectiveness.

Internet update for OECD Health Data 2007 released

26-Oct-2007

The Internet update for OECD Health Data 2007 has been released. Go to the OECD Health Data Update page to download the file and access more than 3,500 data updates, along with a fully revised hypertext for Definitions, Sources and Methods.

Health Care Quality Indicators Project - 2006 data collection update report: A new OECD Health Working Paper

05-Oct-2007

The OECD has released an OECD Health Working Paper (No. 29) from the Health Care Quality Indicators Project. This report is an update to the OECD Health Working Paper No. 22, and reports on the results of a second round of data collection.

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