The Commonwealth Fund.(2011). New 2011 Survey of Patients with Complex Care Needs in 11 Countries Finds That Care Is Often Poorly Coordinated. Washington, DC: Schoen, C., Osborn, R., Squires, D., Doty, M.M., Pierson, R., & Applebaum, S. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/In-the-Literature/2011/Nov/2011-International-Survey-Of-Patients.aspx?omnicid=20.

“In high-income countries, patients with complex care needs account for a disproportionate share of national health spending… These patients typically see multiple clinicians at different locations, making care coordination imperative. To learn more about the experiences of these “sicker adults,” a new Commonwealth Fund survey focused on patients with high care needs in 11 countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

Despite variation in patients’ experiences across the globe, all countries are facing similar challenges in providing effective care to sicker adults, contending with coordination gaps, lapses in communication between providers, and missed opportunities for engaging patients in management of their own care. Moreover, all countries can learn from one another, the authors conclude.

(The bottom line is) across 11 countries, adults with complex care needs who had a medical home reported fewer coordination failures with their care, including medical errors and test duplication, as well as better relationships with their doctors and greater satisfaction with care.”