Denmark: good hospitals but primary health care must improve

The Danish central government and regions are leading international efforts to reform hospital systems, improving quality and safety by gathering specialists into major hospitals and closing smaller ones.

OECD urges countries to harmonise clinical trial regulations to boost medical research and save lives

Increasingly complex and inconsistent clinical trial regulations are causing delays, raising costs and leading to a decline in the number of international trials conducted by academics for non-commerical purposes.

Belgium should be more proactive in tackling mental health issues in the workplace, says OECD

Belgian companies, mutualities and employment services should be more proactive in helping people with mental health problems stay in the workplace or find a job, according to a new OECD report.

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• België moet geestelijke gezondheidsproblemen op het werk proactiever aanpakken, zegt de OESO
• België moet geestelijke gezondheidsproblemen op het werk proactiever aanpakken, zegt de OESO

Asia/Pacific region: Improving the quality of its healthcare

Though the rate of public spending on healthcare in the Asia/Pacific region is still well below the OECD average, countries there are committing more resources to improving health care quality.

Health spending in Europe falls for the first time in decades

Health spending fell across the European Union in 2010, as cash-strapped governments curbed outlays to help cut budgetary deficits, according to Health at a Glance: Europe 2012, a new joint report by the OECD and the European Commission.

Health: men faring worse than women in hospitalisations for diabetes

New OECD data show that men are more likely to be admitted to hospital as a result of poor management of diabetes than women, even when there are no significant differences in the number of men and women living with diabetes.

Israel: excellent primary health care, but hospitals must improve

Israel has world class-primary care services and should now focus efforts on bringing its hospitals up to the same high international standards, according to the OECD’s Health Care Quality Review of Israel.

Health: Growth in health spending grinds to a halt

Growth in health spending slowed or fell in real terms in 2010 in almost all OECD countries, reversing a long-term trend of rapid increases, according to OECD Health Data 2012.

Health: the high cost of diabetes

Across OECD countries some 83 million people suffer from diabetes. On current trends, that will rise to almost 100 million by 2030.

Obesity: Mardi Gras - how fat are people this Tuesday?

More people in developed countries are overweight or obese than ever before, dooming them to years of ill-health and early death. New OECD data show however that in some countries obesity rates are slowing, and that’s good news for people’s health and government budgets.