Industry Relationships Among Academic Institutional Review Board Members: Changes From 2005 Through 2014.

Importance: For the past decade, more attention and concern has been directed toward financial relationships between the life science industry and physicians. Relationships between industry and institutional review board (IRB) members represent an important subclass that has the potential to broadly influence decisions regarding medical research.

Objectives: To study the nature, extent, and perceived consequences of industry relationships among IRB members in academic health centers and to compare our results with findings from 2005.

A survey of primary care doctors in ten countries shows progress in use of health information technology, less in other areas.

Health reforms in high-income countries increasingly aim to redesign primary care to improve the health of the population and the quality of health care services, and to address rising costs. Primary care improvements aim to provide patients with better access to care and develop more-integrated care systems through better communication and teamwork across sites of care, supported by health information technology and feedback to physicians on their performance. Our international survey of primary care doctors in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States found progress in the use of health information technology in health care practices, particularly in the United States.

New 2011 survey of patients with complex care needs in eleven countries finds that care is often poorly coordinated.

Around the world, adults with serious illnesses or chronic conditions account for a disproportionate share of national health care spending. We surveyed patients with complex care needs in eleven countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and found that in all of them, care is often poorly coordinated. However, adults seen at primary practices with attributes of a patient-centered medical home--where clinicians are accessible, know patients' medical history, and help coordinate care--gave higher ratings to the care they received and were less likely to experience coordination gaps or report medical errors.

How health insurance design affects access to care and costs, by income, in eleven countries.

This 2010 survey examines the insurance-related experiences of adults in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The countries all have different systems of coverage, ranging from public systems to hybrid systems of public and private insurance, and with varying levels of cost sharing. Overall, the study found significant differences in access, cost burdens, and problems with health insurance that are associated with insurance design.