An overview of the long-term care situation in Italy is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Korea is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Belgium is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Norway is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Israel is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Canada is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Poland is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Slovenia is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Hungary is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in New Zealand is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in the United Kingdom is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in the Netherlands is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Mexico is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Germany is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in the Czech Republic is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Switzerland is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Sweden is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Spain is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Finland is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Australia is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Greece is available here.

An overview of the long-term care situation in Ireland is available here.

Though overall medical care is improving, efforts to prevent and better manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma would improve results and lower costs, according to the OECD’s latest edition of Health at a Glance.

The OECD’s latest edition of Health at a Glance shows that medical care is improving in OECD countries, but better prevention and management of chronic diseases is required to reduce costs.

Data from OECD Health Data 2012 focusing on key US issues: why is the US health spending so high? Is US health spending higher due to higher prices or higher service provision? (or both?)? Is the quality of care better in the US? What are the trends in key risk factors to health in the US?

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.

This workshop will convene leading experts from health and finance backgrounds in government, academia, and international organisations to take stock of progress in health expenditure forecasting and to discuss future directions, in light of policy needs and recent advancements in techniques, detailed data and computing power.

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.

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.

The Netherlands, as other OECD countries, faces the challenge of providing high quality health and long term care services to an ageing population in a cost-efficient manner.

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.

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.

To pursue economic growth, Russia must develop its human capital, which requires structural reforms in education, healthcare and pensions. These, in turn, must respond to major trends in service provision, including the increasing role of individual choice, the need to deliver lifelong learning and healthcare, and the risk that Russians will increasingly buy services abroad, rather than work to develop their own national systems.

The number of people over 80 will double by 2050 rising from 3.9% of the population to 9.1% in 2050 across OECD countries and from 4.7% to 11.3% across 27 EU members. Estimates are that up to half of them will need help to cope with their daily needs. Yet even today governments are struggling to deliver high-quality care to elderly people with reduced physical and mental abilities, says a new OECD/EC report, A good life in old age? .

This paper provides new projections of public spending on health and long-term care for OECD countries and the BRIICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa). Despite the inevitable uncertainty surrounding projections, they suggest a rapidly rising trend over the next 50 years.

This document outlines the methodologies and tools currently used to assess the risk of chemicals to children’s health and also identifies possible needs for additional guidance or tools based on the results of an on-line survey conducted in November 2011. The following areas of risk assessment are covered: definitions, hazard and exposure assessment, risk characterisation, cohort studies and combined exposure to multiple chemicals.

Earlier detection and better treatment for cancer would cut death rates from the disease by around a third, saving the lives of nearly a million people in the developed world every year, according to a new report by the OECD prepared with the support of the European Commission, building on earlier World Health Organisation research.

Japan has good health outcomes and has rapidly increased its spending on health care in recent years. It now needs to focus on improving efficiency of its health system in order to continue delivering high-quality care while containing costs, according to a new OECD report.

Sweden’s health and elderly care systems deserve their reputation as being among the best in the world. Yet an ageing population with growing chronic conditions and requiring more complex health services are testing Sweden’s ability to continue delivering high-quality care, according to a new OECD report.

Improving primary care systems and co-ordination between health services would help Norway meet the changing needs of its healthcare system, as the population ages and hospital stays become shorter, according to a new OECD report.

The pricing of specialist and hospital services is a contentious issue in South Africa. To help inform domestic debates, the OECD Secretariat has produced a paper profiling international experiences on the pricing of specialist medical services services, competition policy and models of buying services from the private sector.

Strengthening primary health care and prevention programmes would help stem the growing tide of diabetes and other chronic health conditions in the Czech Republic, according to a new OECD report.

The USA has exceptional levels of health-care expenditure, but growth slowed dramatically in recent years, amidst major efforts to close the coverage gap with other OECD countries.

Governments need to step up their efforts to improve mental health care which remains poorly resourced and under-prioritised in too many countries, according to a new OECD report.

Health care use varies widely across countries but can also vary as much or more within countries. Governments should do more to improve their health systems to prevent unnecessary interventions and ensure that everyone has the same access to quality healthcare, wherever they live, according to a new OECD report.

Several OECD countries have published their plans for the development of a future bioeconomy, in which bio-based materials and production techniques will contribute significantly to economic and environmental sustainability. The case for support for bio-based chemicals and plastics therefore warrants serious attention.

Countries in the Asia/Pacific region need to step up their efforts to give more people access to affordable, quality health care. Too many people, especially women, cannot get the medical treatment they need due to high costs, difficulties in getting permission to see a doctor or a lack of health care providers in rural areas, according to a new OECD report.

Today, Europeans enjoy a much longer life expectancy than the previous generation, but large inequalities in health remain across and within countries. These are largely due to disparities in access to and quality of care, as well as individual lifestyles and behaviours, according to a new joint OECD/European Commission report.

Italy has significantly improved the quality of health care in recent decades but needs to tackle the wide disparities that remain between regions, according to a new OECD report.

The current policy approach to tackling dementia is socially and economically unsustainable, according to a new OECD report. Countries need to take action now to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their carers, prioritise public research on dementia, and improve the incentives for private investment in dementia innovation.