Comparative research on health care systems and health policy
reforms is not a new venture. A number of international bodies, such
as the OECD, the WHO, the European Observatory on Health Care
Systems and the World Bank, are involved, as are academic institutions.
Health system research typically compares and analyzes quantitative
data, structures, and system performance between countries,
often within a region or a group of countries with common
socio-economic or organizational patterns.
Undeniably, health reform issues across countries are similar:
Demographics, aging and longevity, modern medicine and new technology,
coordination, transparency and efficiency, quality and cost,
access to and financing of services are all major challenges every
health policy maker needs to address. However, transfer of research
and experience into politics and innovative reform lags considerably
behind the proper comparative analysis of health policy.