The presence of robust health and social care systems is critical to economic success across the world. Countries across the globe are innovating new technologies to optimise their health and social care sectors. The UK is innovating in data, collaboration and benchmarking tools, while other countries explore areas such as hospital capacity, robotics, AI, and accessibility. By learning from the innovations of other nations, we can adapt and create new ways to optimise our health and social care sectors.
Through the examination of countries that lead in health and social care, it is possible for us to learn from their successes and apply insights to enhance our own services.
Commonwealth Survey Rankings for Care Quality
In 2024, the Commonwealth Fund evaluated the healthcare systems of ten countries: Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. This evaluation was based on five core criteria: Care Processes, Access to Care, Equity, Administrative Efficiency, and Health Outcomes.
From this investigation, Australia came out on top, just ahead of the Netherlands and the UK.
- The UK ranked third, performing weakest in Health Outcomes and Care Process, but ranking highest in Administrative Efficiency and second in Access to Care.
- Australia performed lowest in Access to Care but ranked first in Equity and Health Outcomes.
The UK ranked eighth in Care Process, which covers prevention, safety, coordination and patient engagement. Regarding Equity, Australia ranked first, while the UK ranked fifth. Yet, when Equity was reassessed to include patient reported unfair treatment and professional perceptions of ethnic bias, the UK ranked second place.
Fig 1. Overall performance ranking (The Commonwealth Fund,2024)
Australia ranked first in Health Outcomes, meanwhile the USA and UK ranked tenth and eighth respectively. This category measures the outcomes which are most responsive to interventions, including life expectancy at birth, deaths in excess due to COVID-19, deaths which had preventable and treatable causes and further avoidable fatalities.
The UK excels in Administrative Efficiency, which covers funding, insurance, and reporting requirements for providers to report clinical/quality data to government bodies. The UK and Australia are virtually tied in this category. The UK’s publicly funded Health and Social Care sector minimises billing errors and insurance disputes.
Technological advancements can further enhance administrative performance across the world. Tools such as CareCubed enable local authorities and providers to benchmark care and optimise the use of the public purse, therefore increasing how well the UK performs in this category.
Global Health & Social Care Quality
Fig 2. Best countries for quality of care (Radar HealthCare)
Although the Commonwealth comparisons are useful, global analysis reveals broader opportunities for innovation. Radar Healthcare examined healthcare rankings across some of the most innovative countries globally. The latest rankings from their analysis placed South Korea and Japan at the top for quality of care.
- South Korea boasts outstanding hospital availability, with 4,133 hospitals serving 52.3 million people (1 hospital per 13,082 people).
- Japan has 8,300 hospitals for 125.5 million people (1 hospital per 15,698 people).
- Australia ranks third, with 1 hospital per 26,069 people.
- The UK ranks tenth with 1,978 hospitals for 68.5 million people (1 hospital per 34,249 people).
These figures highlight the relatively high hospital capacity per facility in the UK, a contributing factor to longer waiting lists and impacting health outcomes and timely social care.
Overall Performance
Two countries stand out for their excellence in health and social care and innovation: Australia and Japan.
Australia
Australia is demonstrating high performance in Health outcomes and equity, and ranks second to the UK in Administrative Efficiency. Australia’s healthcare spending is proportionate to its performance, reflecting a productive system.
Japan
Although not included in the Commonwealth Fund survey, Japan is recognised for high access to care and preventative services that reduce social care strain. Japan’s most notable achievement is its innovative use of technology and AI in social care.
Faced with an ageing and shrinking population, Japan has embraced automation—not to replace workers, but to address labour shortages, enhance staff capabilities, and improve efficiency. Japanese social care innovations include:
- IT systems for seamless information sharing across care providers, to enhance administrative efficiency and patient involvement.
- Robotic-assisted mobility for non-invasive support.
- Human-machine interaction tools for elderly care, including robots that reduce stress, promote socialisation, and support communication for individuals with neurocognitive disorders like dementia.
The UK
The UK shows high levels of equity with equal treatment and access for racial and ethnic differences. However, when considering only income-based equity, there is some room for improvement. One could say that this could be linked to a requirement for more medical and care accessibility in more deprived areas.
The UK is also excelling in Administrative Efficiency and is looking to level up its administrative ability further, using fair and affordable financial modelling. For example, the use of tools like to assist local authorities, ICBs, and practitioners in obtaining transparency, we are performing well in this field. With automation coming into play across the NHS and Social Care sectors for administrative tasks, we may see even higher grading in this area in future years.
Finally, the UK is performing well in Access to Care, with low-cost barriers ensuring needs-based access for low-income individuals.
Each country has room for improvement, but there is much to be learned from one another. Equity and Administrative Efficiency is high ranking in the UK. Drawing inspiration from the technological innovations from Japan and the Australian success in Health Outcomes, the UK can further evolve and enhance its health and social care systems.
To learn more about optimising financial modelling for social care processes, visit www.carecubed.org.
Read more in our latest issue of The Public Catalyst: https://issuu.com/iesecic/docs/iese_catalyst_magazine_issue-2
