A New International Opportunity: Importing Foreign Experience Back to the United States

International health-care consulting for American firms has flourished over the past 30 years. A key task of any foreign assignment is the research and analysis of local health-care statistics and performance data. In our work this has led to an awareness and appreciation for the efficiency of the health-care delivery systems and medical outcomes in several foreign countries. In essence, a number of countries produce better vital statistics at one-third the cost of U.S. spending. Our purpose here is to share some of our foreign experience, compare certain foreign and U. S. health-care statistics, and set forth an approach for introducing this superior performance into the U.S. health-care system.