Allow me to propose something from years of experience comparing solutions adopted in different systems (though not specifically with regard to the health sector) (thread) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/07/uk-must-learn-from-german-response-to-covid-19-says-whitty?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet

1) The challenges a complex system faces are... well... complex. You can learn a lot, and I mean a LOT from comparing different country’s approaches.

2) You will find that for every detail there are differences. Some of them you can copy, others are bound up with structures of the society that you cannot (or do not want to) transfer.

3) What you need to be able to learn is an absolutely open mind - and you need to put what is a somewhat engrained national defensiveness aside (“but wait, we have the best XYZ of the world”)

4) However, so much of the debate in recent days has not been about learning best practices. It was about taking curves and comparing them. Understandably you want the best curve, but....

5) We are not speaking about one single simple issue. We are speaking about numerous multifaceted complex issues. And you will find the UK has much to learn. So does Germany. So does - well, everyone.

6) And do not limit the comparison to Germany. Include Singapore. Tawain (or Chinese Taipei, if that’s how you roll). Hong Kong. China. Italy. Spain. The UK. The US. Etc. etc.

7) And note that the answers are far from obvious. Thus, e.g., Germany’s approach to testing is bound up with Germany’s decentralised, federal system. It enabled a quick reaction. However,...

8) At the same time the federal approach is under attack in Germany itself (as ever so often) for at times lacking efficiency. The decentralised system was adaptive, but sub-optimal when it comes to reporting.

9) Thus the figure of past German tests might actually still be going up. Because some labs did not report.

10) And then, there’s a problem of causality. It’s easy (well... ) to describe various aspects of a system. It’s harder to pinpoint which one brought about a good / particularly bad outcome.