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European health policy challenges
Author(s) -
Maynard Alan
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.1048
Subject(s) - incentive , clarity , public economics , health care , evidence based policy , politics , economics , public health , business , health policy , economic policy , economic growth , political science , medicine , nursing , alternative medicine , market economy , biochemistry , chemistry , pathology , law
Few countries are immune to the international health care ‘virus’ of reform, with many countries regularly re‐cycling changes that shift costs and benefits in ways that are arbitrary, inefficient and offer short term political palliation. Much of this activity has little evidence base and reveals lack of clarity in defining public policy goals, establishing trade‐offs and aligning incentive structures with these objectives. Well established failures in health care delivery systems such as variations in medical practice and continuing absence of systematic outcome measurement, have persisted for decades as nations grapple inefficiently with recurring problems of expenditure inflation and waiting times. The lack of emphasis on evidence to inform the efficient management of chronic disease and the reduction of health inequalities is a product of perverse incentives and managerial inertia that maintains the incomes of powerful interest groups. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.