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Begin New Search Political Geography North America Author Arnav Shah

1. Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System

Author:
David Blumenthal, Evan D. Gumas, Arnav Shah, Munira Z. Gunja, and Reginald D. Williams II
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Commonwealth Fund
Abstract:
Goal: Compare health system performance in 10 countries, including the United States, to glean insights for U.S. improvement. Methods: Analysis of 70 health system performance measures in five areas: access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health outcomes. Key Findings: The top three countries are Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, although differences in overall performance between most countries are relatively small. The only clear outlier is the U.S., where health system performance is dramatically lower. Conclusion: The U.S. continues to be in a class by itself in the underperformance of its health care sector. While the other nine countries differ in the details of their systems and in their performance on domains, unlike the U.S., they all have found a way to meet their residents’ most basic health care needs, including universal coverage.
Topic:
Development, Public Health, Efficiency, and Healthcare System
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

2. Overworked and Undervalued: Unmasking Primary Care Physicians’ Dissatisfaction in 10 High-Income Countries

Author:
Evan D. Gumas, Munira Z. Gunja, Arnav Shah, and Reginald D. Williams II
Publication Date:
08-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Commonwealth Fund
Abstract:
In many countries, including the United States, primary care physicians are reaching a breaking point.1 In 2021, an estimated 117,000 physicians in the U.S. left the workforce for reasons like retirement, burnout, and pandemic-related stressors.2 During the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care physicians around the world saw a dramatic fall in in-person visits in favor of telehealth, accompanied in some countries by decreases in revenue.3 The Commonwealth Fund also found that most primary care physicians experienced increases in their workload because of more time spent processing insurance payments, getting patients medications or treatments because of coverage restrictions, and reporting clinical or quality of care data to external entities. This has contributed to increased stress, emotional distress, demoralization, and burnout.4 This brief explores primary care physician work satisfaction in the first year of the pandemic — 2020 to 2021 — drawing from the 2022 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians. (See “How We Conducted This Survey” for more details.) Understanding how primary care physicians feel about their everyday work is crucial to improving their patients’ quality of care and to reversing the steady stream of professionals exiting the primary health care workforce. Across 10 high-income countries, including the U.S., we compare primary care physicians’ time spent with patients, number of patients seen, and job satisfaction.
Topic:
Health Care Policy, Public Health, Primary Care, and Dissatisfaction
Political Geography:
North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

3. Comparing Older Adults’ Mental Health Needs and Access to Treatment in the U.S. and Other High-Income Countries

Author:
Munira Z. Gunja, Arnav Shah, and Reginald D. Williams II
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Commonwealth Fund
Abstract:
Nearly all U.S. adults over 65 have some mental health coverage through Medicare. Whether that coverage is sufficient is in question. Comparing mental health care access and affordability for U.S. Medicare beneficiaries with that for older adults in peer nations could highlight coverage gaps and point to opportunities for improvement.
Topic:
Economics, Health Care Policy, Social Policy, and Medicare
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America