Older Americans Were Sicker And Faced More Financial Barriers To Health Care Than Counterparts In Other Countries.

High-income countries are grappling with the challenge of caring for aging populations, many of whose members have chronic illnesses and declining capacity to manage activities of daily living. The 2017 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults in eleven countries showed that US seniors were sicker than their counterparts in other countries and, despite universal coverage under Medicare, faced more financial barriers to health care. The survey's findings also highlight economic hardship and mental health problems that may affect older adults' health, use of care, and outcomes.

Primary Care Physicians In Ten Countries Report Challenges Caring For Patients With Complex Health Needs.

Industrialized countries face a daunting challenge in providing high-quality care for aging patients with increasingly complex health care needs who will need ongoing chronic care management, community, and social services in addition to episodic acute care. Our international survey of primary care doctors in the United States and nine other countries reveals their concern about how well prepared their practices are to manage the care of patients with complex needs and about their variable experiences in coordinating care and communicating with specialists, hospitals, home care, and social service providers. While electronic information exchange remains a challenge in most countries, a positive finding was the significant increase in the adoption of electronic health records by primary care doctors in the United States and Canada since 2012.

International survey of older adults finds shortcomings in access, coordination, and patient-centered care.

Industrialized nations face the common challenge of caring for aging populations, with rising rates of chronic disease and disability. Our 2014 computer-assisted telephone survey of the health and care experiences among 15,617 adults age sixty-five or older in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States has found that US older adults were sicker than their counterparts abroad. Out-of-pocket expenses posed greater problems in the United States than elsewhere.