This paper complements the current health policy debate, which is largely confined to the cost aspects of health systems, by considering explicitly the potential economic benefits of investing in health in general and via - chiefly primary - prevention. While concerns about high and rising...

At present Germany experiences a shake-up of the hospital industry, following the introduction of a DRG-based hospital budgeting system. Hospital owners re-evaluate their assets and adapt their strategies to the new regulatory environment. Benchmarking studies play a vital role in assessing own...