Health system performance comparison: an agenda for policy, information and research

This work is a summary of material prepared for a forthcoming book by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.

Key messages

Policy issue

• International health system performance comparisons have the potential to provide a rich source of evidence as well as policy influence.

• Country comparisons that are not conducted with properly validated measures and unbiased policy interpretations may prompt adverse policy impacts and so caution is required in the selection of indicators, the methodologies used, and the interpretations made.