Long waiting times for inpatient treatment in the UK National Health Service have long been a source of great popular and political concern, and therefore a target for policy initiatives. One such is the London Patient Choice Project, under which patients at risk of breaching inpatient waiting...

We apply cross-sectional and panel data methods to a database of 5 million patients in 8,000 English general practices to examine whether better primary care management of 10 chronic diseases is associated with reduced hospital costs. We find that only primary care performance in stroke care is...

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...

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...

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...

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.

English programme budgeting data have yielded major new insights into the link between health care spending and health outcomes. This paper updates two recent studies that have used programme budgeting data for 295 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England to examine the link between spending and...