The 2011 Commonwealth Fund survey among sicker adults: Results from a comparative survey in 11 countries
Report
|Updated
This is the 3rd time Norway participate in Commonwealth Fund’s International Health Policy survey. Here we present the Norwegian results and compare them to the other countries or group of countries.
Summary
In 2011 Norway participated for the third time in Commonwealth Fund’s International Health Policy survey. A selected group patients drawn from a representative sample of the adult population (18 years or older) in eleven countries assessed the health care services along multiple themes. In this report we present the Norwegian results and compare them to the other countries or group of countries. The Norwegian results are poorer on many of the themes, than the results in the other countries or groups of countries we compare with. There are few areas on which Norway scores better than the others.
The Norwegian results are poorer on these areas than the units we compare with:
- General view on the health services
- General view on the quality of doctor services
- Waiting time to get answer to medical questions or concerns when calling the regular doctor
- Communication between regular doctor/ specialist/ health personnel
- Availability of test results, medical records or reasons for referrals at scheduled appointments
- Waiting time to see a specialist
- Sharing of information between health personnel and different levels of health care services
- Patients’ involvement in specialist treatment
- Review and discussion about use of medicines and written list of medicines currently taken
- Incorrect delivery of medicines from hospital or pharmacy
- Patients believe a medical mistake had been done in their treatment or care
- Information before surgery about and preparation for recovery
The Norwegian results are poorer on these areas related to patients with chronic conditions:
- Discussed main goals and priorities for your condition with health personnel
- Made a treatment plan together with health personnel
- Got clear instructions about symptoms to watch out for and when to seek further care
- Health personnel contacting the patient to see how things are going between doctor visits
- Health personnel whom can be easily called to ask a question or get advice about health condition
- Diabetics having their feet examined by health professionals for sores or irritations in the last year
The Norwegian results are better on these areas than the units we compare with:
- Access to out of hours health services
- Access to regular doctor the same day as one gets ill
- Having a regular doctor
- Having one person responsible for all care from various doctors for a chronic condition
Conclusion
The results indicate a potential for improvement on several areas in Norway, especially when it comes to sharing information, communication and coordination between different actors in health care. The patients’ experiences are an important aspect of the health care quality. The results from this survey show that on several areas Norwegian respondents assess the services as poorer than respondents in other countries or group of countries we compare with.