The OECD advises policymakers on what policies and approaches work best in improving quality of care. We identify policies that can improve care quality, with recent priority areas being integrated care and mental health care. We also help countries strengthen their health data systems to better track quality of care and encourage privacy-respectful use of health data. A series of country reviews on health data infrastructure are helping accelerate the optimisation of data-use to assure timely and more outcome-based healthcare delivery.

Across OECD countries, ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with chronic diseases shift the focus of healthcare services away from acute care towards addressing longer episodes of healthcare needs. Almost two in three people aged over 65 years old live with chronic conditions. This has fueled the debate around the need for integrated delivery systems capable of addressing continuous, co-ordinated, and high-quality care delivery throughout people’s lifetime.

Health lags far behind other sectors in harnessing the potential of data and digital technology, missing the opportunity to save a significant number of lives and billions of dollars. A digital transformation is urgently needed and long overdue at a time of increasing pressure on health systems and budgets. The OECD is working with countries as they develop policies to strengthen their health data infrastructure, with the objective of creating safer, better and more efficient health systems and healthier populations.

When people receive healthcare, they should be able to expect the care to be clinically effective, safe and responsive to their needs. But all too often patients are unintentionally harmed through the provision of care and while many devoted professionals work hard to help prevent safety failures, more can be done.