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In the first in a series of two articles in JAMA Health Forum, Senior Scholar Dave Chokshi explores why the U.S. spends more than twice that of peer countries on health care despite inferior outcomes.
As part of an 11-day leadership exchange with the Commonwealth Fund and Academy Health, Dr. Chokshi recently traveled to Singapore, Australia and New Zealand to observe how they approach health challenges also prevalent in the U.S.
Chokshi notes that, in the past three years, all three countries have enacted reforms that address primary care, centered around health equity and digital health. For example, faced with an aging population and chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol, Singapore aims to take a proactive approach to preserving health, rather than a reactive one. Family physicians “steward individualized care plans for patients including lifestyle adjustments, regular health screening and appropriate vaccinations.”
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center recently released a primary care strategy focused on financing, equity, and sustainability. Chokshi says this is a step in the right direction, but it needs to be shored up with major investments in order to succeed.
Read the full article, “Lessons From Across the Pacific—Health Policy Debates Worth Having, Part 1” here.
Part 2 of the series will address digital health in Australia, health equity in New Zealand, and implications from all three nations for the U.S.
