How can we measure the performance of different health systems, and how can we use such information to support on-going health systems improvement? Those are the central questions addressed in this volume. Health policy makers have a growing interest in finding ways of encouraging health systems...

Despite spending far more on medical care than any other nation and despite having seen a century of unparalleled improvement in population health and longevity, the United States has fallen behind many of its global counterparts and competitors in such health outcomes as overall life expectancy...