Topic: International comparisons

Improving quality is about looking beyond what you do and comparing the way you work with other approaches. There is much that can be learned from healthcare systems around the world and we provide opportunities for healthcare professionals to study abroad and exchange expertise. This section also looks at comparisons within - as well as between - countries.

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Case studies

  • The quest for evidence-based healthcare

    The Quest for Quality and Improved Performance is a research initiative which aims to provide impartial evidence about which policies have the greatest impact on improving the health of the population and the productivity of the NHS.

  • Providing women friendly care in Malawi

    The Health Foundation is running a programme to improve the quality of maternal healthcare in Malawi. One key element is ensuring that healthcare becomes more women-friendly, both in local communities and in hospitals.

  • Reducing maternal death rates in Malawi

    Malawi has one of the world's highest death rates during childbirth. In March 2006, The Health Foundation launched a three year programme dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare for mothers and babies in Malawi.

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Publications

  • Treatment of circulatory disease in the NHS

    Macromeasures of productivity are important when deciding how much public money to devote to the NHS, and in holding the NHS to account. However, it is also important to gain an understanding of the productivity of individual programmes of care so as to ensure that resources are allocated efficiently within the NHS.

  • The link between healthcare spending and health outcomes

    The programme budgeting data offer immense opportunities for examining the link between healthcare expenditure and health outcomes across PCTs. There is extensive international literature on this topic, but very little solid empirical evidence on the magnitude of the link.

  • Healthcare delivery models for heart failure

    The underlying causes of, and effective treatments for, heart failure are well understood. Nevertheless, heart failure continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality, quite apart from substantial direct healthcare spending.

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Current activities

  • Harkness/Health Foundation Fellowships

    The aim of the Harkness/Health Foundation fellowship is to encourage and support healthcare practitioners from managerial and clinical backgrounds to participate in the Harkness Fellowship programme, run by The Commonwealth Fund of New York.

  • International Quality Improvement Exchange

    We enable leaders in healthcare from across Europe to come together and share ideas through our International Quality Improvement Exchange events.

  • Opinion research

    Between 2003 and 2005, The Health Foundation conducted a series of surveys of patients’ opinions and attitudes towards the healthcare they receive in the UK and beyond.

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Features

  • As good as it gets?

    Health policy makers and managers around the world are striving to secure improvements in the quality of care. Kim Sutherland discusses the role of international comparisons in improving healthcare.

  • Increased activity may put bright future at risk

    While health service investment has soared, the pressure on organisations to secure financial control may be driving down productivity. Peter Smith unravels the paradox...

  • Democratic control is essential

    Chief Executive of The Health Foundation, Stephen Thornton, debates whether taking the politics out of the NHS would make for a better health service.

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