National health accounts are a powerful and practical tool for
policy-makers interested in evaluating and restructuring their
nation’s health care financing and in developing and assessing
financial interventions to improve people’s health. This Guide to
producing national health accounts, with special applications for
low-income and middle-income countries provides practical help in
developing this socioeconomic information. Jointly sponsored by the
World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the United States
Agency for International Development, the Guide pulls together the
experience and expertise of long-time practitioners in the field to
help the reader lay out the framework for a set of accounts. It walks
the reader through the process of acquiring and evaluating data and
provides step-by-step examples of how to turn raw numbers into
information useful for policy analysis and development. Be they
first-time health accountants looking for guidance or experienced
practitioners looking for a good reference manual, readers will find
the Guide to be a welcome addition to their toolkit.