April 7, 2011

U.S. could learn from Israel’s health care system, study suggests

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Intense cooperation among health care plans and physicians can improve health care, according to a new study that looks toward Israel’s health care system.

The study—“What The United States Could Learn From Israel About Improving The Quality Of Health Care,” published Thursday by the peer-reviewed Health Affairs magazine—suggests that increased coordination can improve monitoring standards in such areas as colon cancer screening and flu immunization.

Whereas Israel showed a 17 percent increase in colon screenings and a 5 percent increase in flu shots from 2005 to 2007, the United States showed just a 1 percent increase in colon screenings and no increase in flu shots during the same period.

The study was conducted jointly and written by researchers in the United States and Israel, including at Harvard Medical School and the Smokler Center for Health Policy Research in Jerusalem.