title: International health IT benchmarking: learning from cross-country comparisons.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To pilot benchmark measures of health information and communication technology (ICT) availability and use to facilitate cross-country learning.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prior Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-led effort involving 30 countries selected and defined functionality-based measures for availability and use of electronic health records, health information exchange, personal health records, and telehealth. In this pilot, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Working Group compiled results for 38 countries for a subset of measures with broad coverage using new and/or adapted country-specific or multinational surveys and other sources from 2012 to 2015. We also synthesized country learnings to inform future benchmarking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While electronic records are widely used to store and manage patient information at the point of care-all but 2 pilot countries reported use by at least half of primary care physicians; many had rates above 75%-patient information exchange across organizations/settings is less common. Large variations in the availability and use of telehealth and personal health records also exist.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pilot participation demonstrated interest in cross-national benchmarking. Using the most comparable measures available to date, it showed substantial diversity in health ICT availability and use in all domains. The project also identified methodological considerations (e.g., structural and health systems issues that can affect measurement) important for future comparisons.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While health policies and priorities differ, many nations aim to increase access, quality, and/or efficiency of care through effective ICT use. By identifying variations and describing key contextual factors, benchmarking offers the potential to facilitate cross-national learning and accelerate the progress of individual countries.
authors.affiliation: Azimuth Health Group, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.|School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zelmer
authors.affiliation: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Elettra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ronchi
authors.affiliation: Information services department, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Hannele
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hyppönen
authors.affiliation: Information and Communication Department, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lupiáñez-Villanueva
authors.affiliation: Information and Communication Department, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain.|Dipartimento di Scienze Sociali e Politiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristiano
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Codagnone
authors.affiliation: Danish Centre for Health Informatics, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nøhr
authors.affiliation: Health Informatics Research Group, Hochschule Osnabrueck, Osnabrueck, Germany.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Huebner
authors.affiliation: Canada Health Infoway, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fazzalari
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan School of Information, Ann Arbor, United States.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adler-Milstein
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D066275:Health Information Exchange / Q000592:standards; D006291:Health Policy; D038622:Internationality; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects
keywords: benchmarking; electronic health record; health informatics; health information exchange; health policy