| AS per OECD report, the
quality of medical care for chronic conditions is improving in OECD countries,
with higher survival rates for life-threatening diseases.
Health at a Glance 2011 shows that, on average
across the OECD, only 4% of people hospitalised after a heart attack now die
within 30 days following hospital admission, down from 8% in 2000. Survival
rates for different types of cancer are also increasing, thanks to earlier
detection and better treatments. The five-year survival rate for women diagnosed
with breast cancer in 2004 was 84% in 2009 across OECD countries, up from 79%
for those diagnosed in 1997.
These findings highlight the importance of
strengthening prevention and management of chronic diseases and ensuring a
sufficient supply of primary care providers. Health at a Glance 2011 shows that
the balance between general practitioners (GPs) and specialists has changed over
the past decade, with the number of medical specialists increasing much more
rapidly than GPs. This imbalance can be explained partly by the growing gap in
remuneration between GPs and specialists in several countries, including Canada,
Finland, France and Ireland.
Obesity is a key risk factor for many chronic
conditions, with severely obese people dying up to 10 years earlier than those
of normal weight. Health at a Glance 2011 shows that obesity rates have doubled
or even tripled in many countries since 1980. In more than half of OECD
countries, 50% or more of the population is now overweight, if not obese. The
obesity rate in the adult population is highest in the United States, rising
from 15% in 1980 to 34% in 2008, and lowest in Japan and Korea, at 4%.
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