How High-Need Patients Experience the Health Care System in Nine Countries

Authors
Dana O. Sarnak
Jamie Ryan
Brief/Report
January 2016

This resource reviews Commonwealth Fund survey data focused on high-need adults ages 65 and older in nine countries — Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Findings included the following:

  • The U.S. had the highest percentage of older adults with three or more chronic conditions (42 percent).
  • The U.S. had the highest rate of cost-related access problems for all older adults, especially high-need patients. More than 1 in 5 high-need adults in the U.S. (22 percent) reported cost-related barriers to care.
  • The U.S. performed better than all the other countries in contacting patients between visits and providing treatment plans. Nearly 9 of 10 high-need adults in the U.S. (87 percent) reported that they had a treatment plan.
  • Success in other countries may be the result of policies that specifically target high-need patients. Further analysis of these policies and their key features can help U.S. policymakers better target care to high-need patients.
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Level of Evidence
Moderate
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