Technological Change Around The World: Evidence From Heart Attack Care

• Published in: Health Affairs Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 25 - 42
• Main Authors: Moreland, Abigail, Mcclellan, Mark, Kessler, Daniel, Saynina, Olga, Hobbs, Michael, Ridout, Steve, Richardson, Jeff, Robertson, Iain, Closon, Marie, Perelman, Julian, Fassbender, Konrad, Tu, Jack, Curry, Grant, Austin, Peter, Pilote, Louise, Eisenberg, Mark J., Terkel, Christiansen, Ivar Søndbø, Kristiansen, Madsen, Mette, Rasmussen, Søren, Michael, Goldacre, Yeates, David G.R., Robinson, Michael, Keskimäki, Ilmo, Häkkinen, Unto, Veikko, Salomaa, Mähönen, Markku, Dormont, Brigitte, Milcent, Carine, Durand-Zaleski, Isabelle, Ethel-Sherry, Gordon, Haklai, Ziona, Kark, Jeremy, Shmueli, Amir, Atella, Vincenzo, Fabbri, Daniele, Vanuzzo, Diego, Pilotto, Lorenza, Pilotto, Laura, Imanaka, Yuichi, Yoshihiro, Kaneko, Noguchi, Haruko, Toyo, Eiwa, Young-Hoon, Kim, Bong-Min, Yang, Haug, Charlotte, Mcguire, Alistair, Raikou, Maria, Windmeijer, Frank, Boyd, James, Koon Hou, Mak, Kai Hong, Phua, Ng Tze, Pin, Ling Ling, Sim, Suok-Kai, Chew, Caren, Tan, Carl Hampus, Lyttkens, Dozet, Alexander, Lindgren, Anna, Höjgård, Sören, Öhlin, Hans, Paccaud, Fred, Burnand, Bernard, Wietlisbach, Vincent, Holly, Alberto, Gardiol, Lucien, Eggli, Yves, Mei-Shu, Lai, Joan C., Lo, Heidenreich, Paul, Mcdonald, Kathryn, Newhouse, Joseph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Health Affairs 01-05-2001; The People to People Health Foundation, Inc., Project HOPE; Project HOPE
• Subjects: Cardiac catheterization; Cardiology; Collaboration; Comparative studies; Cross-sectional studies; Delivery of Health Care - organization & administration; Developed Countries; Economics and Finance; Evidence-Based Medicine; Global Health; Health care; Health care networks; Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy; Health Sciences; Health Services Research; Heart attacks; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Hälso- och sjukvårdsorganisation, hälsopolitik och hälsoekonomi; Hälsovetenskap; Industrialized nations; Intubation; Longitudinal Studies; Medical and Health Sciences; Medical practices; Medical technology; Medical treatment; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Methods and statistics; Myocardial Infarction - economics; Myocardial Infarction - surgery; Myocardial Infarction - therapy; Statistical analysis; Technological change; Technology; Trends
• ISSN: 0278-2715; 1544-5208
• DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.20.3.25

Although technological change is a hallmark of health care worldwide, relatively little evidence exists on whether changes in health care differ across the very different health care systems of developed countries. We present new comparative evidence on heart attack care in seventeen countries showing that technological change--changes in medical treatments that affect the quality and cost of care--is universal but has differed greatly around the world. Differences in treatment rates are greatest for costly medical technologies, where strict financing limits and other policies to restrict adoption of intensive technologies have been associated with divergences in medical practices over time. Countries appear to differ systematically in the time at which intensive cardiac procedures began to be widely used and in the rate of growth of the procedures. The differences appear to be related to economic and regulatory incentives of the health care systems and may have important economic and health consequences.