Payment incentives to both consumers and providers have significant consequences for the equity and efficiency of a healthcare system, and have recently come to the fore in health policy reforms. This review first discusses the economic rationale for the apparent international convergence toward...

If a healthcare delivery system is to achieve quality and efficiency, participants must be able to measure quality and efficiency. Yet no healthcare system in the world - and certainly not the current US system, our main focus - measures, reports and acts on such a measure of productivity. This...