What we do
The ‘On-call’ Facility for International Healthcare Comparisons was
set up in October 2005 to provide timely, targeted, relevant and concise information
on a range of health policy themes from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand
to inform health policy developments in England.
The Facility brings together experts from 13 countries (the International
Healthcare
Comparisons Network).
It is coordinated by a research
team based at the London School of
Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine (LSHTM)
and operates closely with the European
Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the project’s Steering
Committee. The Facility is funded by the Department
of Health (DH).
Our work focuses on comparative analysis to facilitate learning from the experience
of other health systems as an input to policy development by the Department of
Health. We respond to specific requests for information on international experience
in areas ranging from health sector capacity planning to activity-based financing
of hospitals. The themes we work on are selected
in close consultation with the Department of Health and reflect both the Department’s
interests and a specific theme’s relevance in other countries. The information
we provide includes in-depth analyses and rapid-response-type briefings based
on a quick survey of our experts.
Background
Health systems vary widely across high-income countries, with differences in organisation, financing, types and amounts of resources used and health outcomes achieved. Yet, all countries have something in common. They share similar goals, to ensure accessible health care of high quality that is responsive, affordable and financially sustainable, and they face similar challenges, such as rising health care costs coupled with technological advances, demographic changes and increasing public expectations.Given these common concerns, there is growing interest in the possibility of learning from the experience of others and drawing lessons on improving health system performance through comparative analysis. International comparisons offer a means of sharing experience, enabling mutual learning, cross-fertilisation and, possibly, policy transfer.
However, comparisons can be problematic: definitions vary and contexts differ (for instance, what is a hospital bed?). Superficial exercises may lead to misinterpretation of observed phenomena and misleading conclusions. Many comparisons are based on routinely-collected data, but these often reflect what can be counted rather than what is important. And data are not always up to date.
What is called for is a timely and sensitive approach to comparisons that is based on an in-depth understanding of the nature of health systems and the settings in which they are embedded and takes full account of context.
