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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.




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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.




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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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Health Spending Growth at Zero: Which Countries, Which Sectors Are Most Affected?

OECD Health Working Papers No. 60: Health Spending Growth at Zero: Which Countries, Which Sectors Are Most Affected?




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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.




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Mental Health and Work Expert Seminar - Lessons from the First Country Reports

The main purpose of this meeting is to shortly present where the Mental Health and Work project stands and to discuss some good practice examples from the first countries that have been reviewed.




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Avoiding death by diesel, blog post by Simon Upton

"It is estimated that air pollution from diesel-fuelled road transport kills 10 times more people each year in France than those who die in road accidents": OECD Insights Blog's post by Simon Upton, head of the OECD Environment Directorate, founder and Chair of the Round Table on Sustainable Development, and former New Zealand environment minister.




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Norway should improve incentives to encourage people to work longer, says OECD

Norway is better placed to cope with population ageing than most other countries. But it could still do more to improve incentives and opportunities for people to stay working longer which would help ensure the country’s long-term future, according to a new OECD report.




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Health spending continues to stagnate, says OECD

After falling sharply in 2010, health spending remained flat across OECD countries in 2011 as the economic crisis continued to have an impact, particularly in those European countries hardest hit by the crisis, according to OECD Health Data 2013.




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The future of public health: policy decisions today for tomorrow’s populations - Speech by Yves Leterme at EPHA

The future of public health: policy decisions today for tomorrow’s populations. Our health, our economy, our society, our future: a Brave New World. Remarks by Yves Leterme, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD. Brussels, Belgium, September 4th 2013.




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Assessing the risk of chemicals to children’s health: an OECD-wide survey

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.




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ICTs and the Health Sector: Towards Smarter Health and Wellness Models

The future sustainability of health systems will depend on how well governments are able to anticipate and respond to efficiency and quality of care challenges. Bold action is required, as well as willingness to test innovative care delivery approaches. This book examines the whole new world of possibilities in using mobiles and the Internet to address healthcare challenges.




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Managing Hospital Volumes: Germany and Experiences from OECD Countries

To help inform the Conference on Managing Hospital Volumes, co-organised by the German Federal Ministry of Health and the OECD, and held on the 11th April 2013 in Berlin, the OECD Secretariat produced a paper to provide an international perspective on Germany’s situation and the current policy debate.




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Policies for Bioplastics in the Context of a Bioeconomy

This paper explores the development of the bioplastics sector and its role in national bioeconomy strategies. It finds that bioplastics are at a disadvantage compared to some other biobased products, notably biofuels, that often benefit from preferential treatment. It also notes that greater efforts are needed at the international level as regards standards to avoid creating barriers to international trade in biobased products.




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Improving detection and treatment would cut cancer death rates significantly, says OECD

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.




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OECD report measures human cost of crisis; underlines need to invest in well-being

The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.




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Australia needs to tackle its rising levels of obesity, says OECD Health at a Glance report

Australians continue to enjoy one of the highest levels of health across the developed world but need to address Australia’s growing obesity problem, according to a new OECD report.




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Mexico needs to tackle ever rising obesity, says OECD Health at a Glance report

Mexico needs serious investment in prevention programmes to address its massive, and still rising, obesity rate, according to a new OECD report.




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Toward New Models for Innovative Governance of Biomedecine and Health Technologies

This report examines examples of new and emerging governance models to support responsible development of diagnostics and treatments based on the latest advances in biomedicine. It identifies some of the main challenges for policy makers, regulators and other communities involved in the translation of biomedical innovation and health technologies from the lab bench to point of care.




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Switzerland needs to improve its approach to mental-health issues in the labour force, says OECD

Switzerland needs to do more to help people with mental disorders find a job or stay in work, according to a new OECD report.




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Workshop on Integrating Omics and Policy for Healthy Ageing: Synthesis Report

An ageing population brings new challenges both to healthcare systems and to medicine in terms of the increased manifestation of specific diseases primarily seen in the elderly. Biomedical innovation, and in particular research into "omics technologies", offers the promise of new means of detection, prevention and treatment of age-related disabilities and diseases.




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Unleashing the Power of Big Data for Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Research

More than 35 million people worldwide had dementia in 2010 and this number is expected to exceed 115 million by 2050. This paper reports on the opportunities offered by the informatics revolution and big data to address Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. This will require careful planning and multi-stakeholder collaboration as technical, administrative, regulatory, infrastructure and financial obstacles emerge.




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Norway should strengthen primary care to address evolving healthcare needs, says OECD

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.




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More efforts needed to tackle rising obesity, says OECD

Most people in OECD countries are overweight or obese. The social and economic consequences of this epidemic are dramatic, exposing an increasing number of people to chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.




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Emerging Policy Issues in Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is an emerging technology that shows promise for investigating some of the burning issues in biological research. It also has the potential to address some of the grand challenges facing society, such as climate change and energy security.




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Pricing and Competition in Specialist Medical Services

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.




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Health-care expenditure and health policy in the USA versus other high-spending OECD countries

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.




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Mental healthcare under-resourced in too many countries, says OECD

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.




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Redesigning how health services are delivered in Japan would better meet the needs of a super-ageing population, says OECD

Elderly individuals with complex, chronic diseases need continuous and tailored care to maintain their health and maximise their ability to participate in society. Japan must change the way it delivers health services for older citizens by strengthening its specialist primary care and making mental health care services more widely available, according to a new OECD report.




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Mental Health and Work - Achieving Well-integrated Policies and Service Delivery (OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 161)

Improving labour market participation of people with mental health problems requires well-integrated policies and services across the education, employment, health and social sectors. This paper provides examples of policy initiatives from 10 OECD countries for integrated services.




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Most Asia/Pacific countries need to improve affordable access to healthcare, says OECD

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.




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Inequalities in health and access to quality care persist in Europe, shows a new OECD/EC 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.




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Big Data for Advancing Dementia Research - An Evaluation of Data Sharing Practices in Research on Age-related Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dementia is increasing in prevalence, and to date has no cure or treatment. One element in improving this situation is using and sharing data more widely to increase the power of research. Further, moving beyond established medical data into big data offers the potential to tap into routinely collected data from both within and outside the health system.




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OECD outlines action for governments to tackle heavy cost of harmful drinking

Harmful drinking is on the rise among young people and women in many OECD countries, partly due to alcohol becoming more available, more affordable and more effectively advertised, according to a new OECD report.




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Health care quality improved in Portugal, despite tight budgets

The Portuguese National Health Service has responded well to financial pressure, successfully balancing the twin priorities of financial consolidation and continuous quality improvement, according to a new OECD report.




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Rising diabetes and obesity threaten progress in tackling cardiovascular diseases

Rising levels of obesity and diabetes around the world could halt a trend of decreasing mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and heart attacks, and even cause rates to start rising again, particularly among younger people, according to a new OECD report.




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OECD Health Statistics 2015 - Country Notes

Specific country notes have been prepared using data from the database OECD Health Statistics 2015, July 2015 version. The notes are available in PDF format.




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Healthcare costs unsustainable in advanced economies without reform

Healthcare costs are rising so fast in advanced economies that they will become unaffordable by mid-century without reforms, according to a new OECD report.




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Healthcare improving too slowly to meet rising strain of chronic diseases

Too many lives are still lost in OECD countries because healthcare quality is improving too slowly to cope with ageing populations and the growing number of people with one or more chronic diseases, according to a new OECD report.




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Australia should build on the mental health reform to strengthen employment outcomes of people with mental health issues

The recent mental health reform is an important step towards better services for people with mental ill-health, but Australia needs to do more to help people with mild to moderate mental health issues at and into work, according to a new OECD report.




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Colombia still faces challenges to improve health care quality

Colombia has significantly improved its health system over the past 20 years, leading to a rise in life expectancy and a fall in infant mortality. To maintain its ambition of universal, high-quality health care, Colombia should now focus on improving efficiency and strengthening financial sustainability, according to a new OECD report.




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The Mexican health care system has made great progress during the last decade – but the remaining challenges are daunting

In the ten years since the introduction of Seguro Popular, some 50 million Mexicans previously at risk of unaffordable health care bills now have access to health insurance. The OECD Review of Health Systems: Mexico 2016 finds that the share of the population exposed to unaffordable or impoverishing health care costs has fallen from 3.3% to 0.8% of the population in the past decade.




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World Cancer Day: Where do OECD countries stand in the “war against cancer”?

World Cancer Day: Where do OECD countries stand in the “war against cancer”?




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Private hospital prices in South Africa are expensive for citizens

Price levels for private hospital services in South Africa are comparable to the levels observed across OECD countries. But they are higher than what could be expected given the country’s income, according to a new OECD working paper.




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Urgent research needed into risks from nanomaterials in household waste

Urgent research is needed to assess the possible risks to human health and ecosystems from the ever-increasing amounts of engineered nanomaterials going into household waste and ending up in the environment, according to a new OECD report.




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Health workers with right skills in right places needed

The number of doctors and nurses has reached record levels in the OECD. Countries should now reform their training and employment strategies to better respond to people’s changing health needs and also reduce their reliance on foreign-trained health workers from developing countries, according to a new OECD report.




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Pharmaceutical Expenditure and Policies: Past Trends and Future Challenges

This paper looks at recent trends in pharmaceutical spending across OECD countries. It examines the drivers of recent spending trends, highlighting differences across therapeutic classes, and then looks at emerging challenges for policy makers in the management of pharmaceutical spending.




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Tackling antimicrobial resistance

At the OECD, we have calculated that about 50% of all the antimicrobials prescribed by healthcare facilities in our member countries do not meet prescription guidelines. In healthcare services such as long-term care facilities and general practices up to 70% and 90% respectively of antibiotics may be prescribed for inappropriate reasons.




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Launch event of the report “Working for health and growth: investing in the health workforce”: closing remarks by Angel Gurría

The High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, chaired by H.E. François Hollande and H.E. Jacob Zuma, today delivered its final report and recommendations to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.




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Latvia faces important challenges to improve the performance of its health system

Latvia has successfully consolidated its hospital sector and strengthened primary care since the financial crisis. But persistent barriers to accessing high quality care need to be removed, according to a new OECD report.