Two must-read articles in the current issue of Health Affairs.

• "How Does the Quality of Care Compare in Five Countries?," by Peter S. Hussey, Gerard F. Anderson, Robin Osborn, Colin Feek, Vivienne McLaughlin, John Millar and Arnold Epstein -- 23(3):89-99.
  Abstract: International data on quality of medical care allow countries to compare their performance to that of other countries. The Commonwealth Fund International Working Group on Quality Indicators collected data on twenty-one indicators that reflect medical care in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England, and the United States. The indicators include five-year cancer relative survival rates, thirty-day case-fatality rates after acute myocardial infarction and stroke, breast cancer screening rates, and asthma mortality rates. No country scores consistently the best or worst overall. Each country has at least one area of care where it could learn from international experiences and one area where its experiences could teach others.



• "U.S. Health Care Spending In An International Context," Uwe E. Reinhardt, Peter S. Hussey and Gerard F. Anderson -- 23(3):10-25.
  Abstract: Using the most recent data on health spending published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), we explore reasons why U.S. health spending towers over that of other countries with much older populations. Prominent among the reasons are higher U.S. per capita gross domestic product (GDP) as well as a highly complex and fragmented payment system that weakens the demand side of the health sector and entails high administrative costs. We examine the economic burden that health spending places on the U.S. economy. We comment on attempts by U.S. policy-makers to increase the prices foreign health systems pay for U.S. prescription drugs.

The full text of both articles can be accessed through the links above, though access may require a paid-up subscription to the journal. Both articles are summarized in a news report in today's Wall Street Journal, which also may require a paid subscription.