A study by health economists at the University of York has, for the first time, produced an estimate of the impact on other NHS patients of new and more costly drugs and other treatments. This research suggests a refinement of the way the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence...

The fundamental aim of public services is to improve the quality of life of citizens. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of public service organisations (PSOs) on aspects of quality of life (broadly measured) of citizens at a local level. We assembled a rich...

Recently the English NHS has introduced an activity-based payment scheme for secondary care - the Payment by Results (PbR) policy. In this paper we discuss, from an economic perspective, the main intended and unintended incentives created by this policy. We also outline the role of different NHS...

This report describes results from research funded by the Health Foundation under its Quest for Quality and Improved Performance (QQuIP) initiative. It builds on our earlier report for the Health Foundation – The link between health care spending and health outcomes: evidence from English...

Reducing health inequalities is an important part of health policy in most countries. This paper discusses from an economic perspective how government policy can influence health inequalities, particularly focusing on the outcome of performance targets in England, and the role of sectors of the...

The extent to which the English National Health Service secures value for money for taxpayers has become a central issue of political and public debate. Questions include: how much expenditure growth has been made available to the NHS? on what has that money been spent? what improvements in the...

In recent years considerable progress has been made in developing improved methodologies to measure non-market output in the National Accounts. Most EU Member States have supported the introduction of a legal framework to implement these methodologies and have introduced current best practice...

A composite indicator is an aggregated index comprising individual performance indicators. Composite indicators integrate a large amount of information in a format that is easily understood and are therefore a valuable tool for conveying a summary assessment of performance in priority areas....

The NHS embodies the statutory package of health care services and is subject to a considerable quantity of legislation, regulation and guidance. We provide an overview of the benefit basket in England, clarifying the actors and decision making framework involved by describing the principles...

This report describes preliminary results from research funded by the Health Foundation under its Quest for Quality and Improved Performance (QQuIP) initiative.