A retrospective analysis of health systems in Denmark and Kaiser Permanente.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To inform Danish health care reform efforts, we compared health care system inputs and performance and assessed the usefulness of these comparisons for informing policy.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of secondary data in the Danish Health Care System (DHS) with 5.3 million citizens and the Kaiser Permanente integrated delivery system (KP) with 6.1 million members in California. We used secondary data to compare population characteristics, professional staff, delivery structure, utilisation and quality measures, and direct costs. We adjusted the cost data to increase comparability.

Results

A higher percentage of KP patients had chronic conditions than did patients in the DHS: 6.3% vs. 2.8% (diabetes) and 19% vs. 8.5% (hypertension), respectively. KP had few

SUBMITTER: Frolich A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2630928 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature