"In most health systems, at least a fifth of health spending is at best ineffective and at worst, wasteful"

What's your name?

Agnès Couffinhal

What position do you hold?

Senior Economist in the health department of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), an international organisation through which governments work together to improve the economic and social well-being of people by benchmarking country’s performance in achieving good outcomes, sharing experiences and seeking solutions to common problems.

How long have you held the position?

Two and a half years.

What are your day to day responsibilities?

I manage and contribute to projects commissioned by the health ministries to our organisation: From reviews of their health systems to comparative analysis of policies on specific topics to help countries learn about best practices.

What is your professional background?

I am an economist by training and have been working in the field of international health policy for more than fifteen years in different parts of the world with the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.

Tell us something very few people know about you?

I have been to 62 different countries (do you know it’s only 32% of countries in the world?!). I get very excited when I add a new one but try not to cheat, for instance, I changed airplanes in Moscow last fall and resisted the temptation of adding Russia to the list.

You are speaking at the 2018 Health Summit. What are you speaking about?

In most health systems, at least a fifth of health spending is at best ineffective and at worst, wasteful. Wasteful spending occurs at all levels of the system, when care is delivered inappropriately, when procurement is not effective, when people cannot be released from hospitals for lack of follow-on care. All stakeholders contribute to the problem and can help devise solutions which will improve the sustainability of our health systems.

What challenges do you see for the healthcare sector in Ireland?

Ireland stands out among European countries for not providing coverage of primary health care to its entire population. This goes some way towards explaining high numbers of hospitalisations and visits to emergency departments, many of which could be avoided and are thus wasteful.

Where would you like to see the health service in 10 years’ time?

The ability of primary care to deliver a wider range of patient-centred services and to coordinate with other parts of the system should be strengthened and access to primary care should be universal.

Agnès Couffinhal is appearing at The 14th National Health Summit. The agenda and further details for this important national event, at Croke Park on February 8th, is available athealthsummit.ie