November 5, 2009 - A new Commonwealth Fund survey of primary care physicians in 11 countries reveals that the United States lags far behind other countries in key areas of access, quality, and use of health information technology—undermining doctors' efforts to provide timely, high-quality care.
In the Literature
October 1, 2009 - In invited testimony before the Senate Special Committee on Aging on September 30, Commonwealth Fund senior vice president Cathy Schoen described some of the innovative policies enacted by other nations to improve performance, enhance value, and harness markets and competition in the public interest. Schoen says the U.S. can learn a lot from their experiences.
Testimony
September 21, 2009 - A Commonwealth Fund-supported 10-nation study examines how the provision of pediatric developmental services is apportioned among different types of health care providers--pediatricians, general practice physicians, and nurses. In doing so, the researchers shed light on the uniquely broad role that U.S. pediatricians play in delivering child health care.
In the Literature
July 28, 2009 - Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom all have set up agencies to ensure that their investments in health care, including medications, treatments, and new medical technologies, are yielding ‘value for money’ and to assist health care providers in improving their clinical practice.
Other
July 22, 2009 - The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) was established in 2004 to provide Germany's Federal Joint Committee with evidence-based evaluations of the benefits and cost benefits of health services, and functions in an advisory role.
Issue Brief
July 22, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund issue brief examins the U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which was established to perform three core functions: 1) reduce unwarranted variation in practice across the United Kingdom through the development and dissemination of best practice evidence-based standards; 2) encourage fast diffusion and uniform uptake of high-value medical innovations; and 3) ensure the taxpayers’ money is invested in the National Health Service so that health benefit is maximized.
Issue Brief
July 22, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund issue brief looks at Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, through which most prescription drugs are subsidized.
Issue Brief
July 22, 2009 - This Commonwealth Fund issue brief outlines the French National Authority for Health, which was established to assist France's public institutions in optimizing the basket of reimbursable goods and services and to help health care professionals continuously improve their clinical practice.
Issue Brief
June 5, 2009 - Agencies in Australia, France, Germany, and the U.K. have comparative effectiveness research agencies that offer lessons for the United States.
In the Literature
May 27, 2009 - It can be argued that much of the evidence generated in the United States on the importance of early childhood to future health and attainment has had a greater effect on the national policies of other countries than it has in the U.S., which lacks a national policy agenda for young children.
Fund Report
January 28, 2009 - Findings from a Commonwealth Fund survey published in Health Policy concludes that adoption of health information technology is highly variable across countries, with the United States lagging well behind.
In the Literature
January 16, 2009 - This new Commonwealth Fund report provides an overview of the Swiss and Dutch insurance systems, which combine universal coverage with private insurance and regulated market competition.
Fund Report
November 18, 2008 - In 2005, the U.S. spent $6,041 per capita on health care--more than double the median per capita spending ($2,922) of the 30 industrialized countries that form the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Literature Abstract
November 13, 2008 - A new Commonwealth Fund survey of chronically ill patients in eight industrialized nations--Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States--finds that those in the U.S. are by far the most likely to forgo care because of the cost, as well as the most likely to experience medical errors, care coordination problems, and high out-of-pocket costs.
In the Literature
July 2, 2008 - Obesity-related chronic disease is more prevalent in the U.S. than in the other industrialized nations, according to a Fund-supported study in Health Affairs that analyzes health spending in the U.S. and 29 other industrialized countries.
In the Literature