How does the quality of care compare in five countries? An international quality comparison shows that each country performs best and worst in at least one area of care

International data on quality of medical care allow countries to compare their performance to that of other countries. The Commonwealth Fund International Working Group on Quality Indicators collected data on twenty-one indicators that reflect medical care in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England, and the United States. The indicators include five-year cancer relative survival rates, thirty-day case-fatality rates after acute myocardial infarction and stroke, breast cancer screening rates, and asthma mortality rates. No country scores consistently the best or worst overall. Each country has at least one area of care where it could learn from international experiences and one area where its experiences could teach others.