With the passage of the Heath Care Reform Bill into law in March 2010, many investors have expressed interest in the impact that the new legislation will have on the health care sector. The impact of the new law is significant to the U.S. economy as overall health spending currently represents about 17 percent of the U.S. GDP and is projected to increase to about 19 percent by 2019. The Congres...

health reform is the outcome of dispersed policy initiatives in different sectors, at different levels and across time. policy work which can drive coherent health reform needs to operate across the governance structures as well as the institutions that comprise healthcare systems. building policy capacity to support health reform calls for clarity regarding the nature of such policy work and t...

This article takes up the relatively neglected issue of gender in human resources policy and planning (HRPP), with particular reference to the health sector in developing countries. Current approaches to human resources lack any reference to gender issues. Meeting the health needs of women as major users and potential beneficiaries of health services is a key international concern. This article...

Health system reforms are implemented for improvement of the effectiveness, efficiency, quality , equity of health systems and for the ultimate purpose of universal health coverage (1). There is a wide range of experiences with the implementation of health sector change in different countries in the last decade. In Iran, recently Ministry of Health and Medical Education announced master plan fo...

There is widespread agreement that Australia’s mental health system is in critical need of reform. In a move that has left many in the mental health sector wondering if they were trapped in a rerun of Groundhog day, the Australian Government recently charged the National Mental Health Commission with undertaking a mental health review to investigate the gaps and duplications in, and effectivene...

Pakistan has undergone massive changes in its federal structure under the 18th Constitutional Amendment. To gain insights that will inform reform plans, we assessed several aspects of health-systems performance in Pakistan. Some improvements were noted in health-systems performance during the past 65 years but key health indicators lag behind those in peer countries. 78·08% of the population pa...