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Getting Better: Improving Health System Outcomes in Europe and Central Asia
FIGURE 6.7
Greater Use of Information in OECD Health Systems than in ECA b. Information is shared electronically between providers
a. Structure for health technology assessment is in place 15
20
Number of countries
Number of countries
25
15 10 5 0
10 5 0
OECD
ECA West Country grouping
OECD
ECA East
c. Physicians receive feedback about activities
ECA East
d. Information on quality of providers is published 15 Number of countries
15 Number of countries
ECA West Country grouping
10 5
10 5 0
0 OECD
ECA West
ECA East
OECD
ECA West
ECA East
Country grouping
Country grouping Yes
No
Sources: Paris, Devaux, and Wei 2010; World Bank 2012. Note: ECA = Europe and Central Asia; OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
mortality rates for patients admitted with stroke? Answering these questions and acting on the information is important. In essence, it is a health system analog to operational research by businesses. This ingredient also reinforces the importance of having some activitybased payment methods: salaries and global budgeting yield no information about services provided. Figure 6.7 illustrates the differences across the OECD and ECA with respect to several examples of health system use of information. These examples are whether there is any use of health technology assessment to determine whether a service should be covered; whether providers share information electronically, which can strengthen coordination of care and reduce duplicative and wasteful care; whether physicians receive feedback about their activities, which can promote continuous performance improvement; and whether information is published on the quality of individual providers, which can help patients make decisions about where to seek care and provides