The impetus for this study arose from the need to upgrade the case mix measure of choice in use at the national level in Ireland. Since 1993, various versions of the DRG grouper supported by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) had been in use in Ireland. With improvements in...

Air pollution is well recognised as a major risk factor for disease and premature mortality worldwide. In Ireland, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which originates largely from burning solid fuel for heating, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), derived from road transport, are the main sources...

Unlike most European countries, a majority of the population in Ireland pay out of pocket for a range of primary-care services, including general practitioner (GP) care. In 2017, the Committee on the Future of Healthcare published its final report (the Sláintecare Report; Houses of the...

The ESRI research report 'How does Irish Healthcare Expenditure compare internationally?' examines how Irish Healthcare Expenditure (HCE) compares to expenditure in other countries. Using international OECD data for 2017, this study finds that how Irish HCE compares differs depending on the...

Research has shown that older individuals are far more likely to avail of health care and there is concern in a number of countries that the trend toward population ageing may mean that health care expenditures increase to unsustainable levels. However, there is a growing body of evidence that...

Deutschland leistet sich nach internationalen Maßstäben überdimensionierte Bettenkapazitäten, die sich auf zu viele und häufig zu kleine Krankenhäuser verteilen. Aufgabe der Länder wäre es, die Struktur anzupassen. Sie scheuen aber den politischen Widerstand der unmittelbar Betroffenen....

Die Diskussionen zur Krankenhausreform in Deutschland, die mit den Veröffentlichungen der Regierungskommission Ende 2022 starteten, sind nunmehr durch den eingeläuteten Gesetzgebungsprozess (Krankenhaustransparenzgesetz bzw. Krankenhausversorgungsverbesserungsgesetz) in formale Bahnen gelenkt...

Weltweit wird über Reformen der sozialen Sicherung diskutiert. Eines der zentralen Themen dabei ist, welche Aufgaben der Staat übernehmen und was privaten Akteuren überlassen bleiben soll. Dabei geht es nicht nur um den Umfang, sondern auch um die Art staatlicher Tätigkeit, z. B. durch...

In most of the countries in transition from a planned to a market economy (firmer Soviet Union (FSU) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)) patients are routinely asked to pay unofficially for the medicines and other supplies that ought to be free. They are often described as 'payments to...