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Are we getting what we pay for?

Are we getting what we pay for?
Are we getting what we pay for?
The British NHS delivers health care free at the point of access to whomever needs it. It is often claimed to be the envy of the world. But does it deliver health? Or could the resource put into the health service be better spent elsewhere? In this article, we discuss the determinants of health in the United Kingdom in the past, the rise of public health and the impact medical technology has had on health. We discuss resource distribution in health care, and apply the principles of health economics to the wider context of the delivery of health, rather than health care. With a background of rising demand for health care and rationing of resources in the UK, combined with inequalities in life expectancy related to position in society, we conclude that wealth redistribution, environmental regulation, improved nutrition and better education must come first in the priorities for achieving a healthy population.
health services needs and demand, government, epidemiology, state medicine, economics, sociology, trends, delivery, life expectancy, health, public health, mortality, environmental, health priorities, humans, education, socioeconomic factors, financing, population, health services accessibility, investments, great britain, medical, nutrition, health care rationing, health promotion, statistics
1013-1019
George, Steve
bdfc752b-f67e-4490-8dc0-99bfaeb046ca
Julious, Steven
f43c38eb-8aaa-4f4c-a770-a68bc2321360
George, Steve
bdfc752b-f67e-4490-8dc0-99bfaeb046ca
Julious, Steven
f43c38eb-8aaa-4f4c-a770-a68bc2321360

George, Steve and Julious, Steven (2006) Are we getting what we pay for? Public Health, 120 (11), 1013-1019. (doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2006.08.012).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The British NHS delivers health care free at the point of access to whomever needs it. It is often claimed to be the envy of the world. But does it deliver health? Or could the resource put into the health service be better spent elsewhere? In this article, we discuss the determinants of health in the United Kingdom in the past, the rise of public health and the impact medical technology has had on health. We discuss resource distribution in health care, and apply the principles of health economics to the wider context of the delivery of health, rather than health care. With a background of rising demand for health care and rationing of resources in the UK, combined with inequalities in life expectancy related to position in society, we conclude that wealth redistribution, environmental regulation, improved nutrition and better education must come first in the priorities for achieving a healthy population.

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More information

Published date: November 2006
Keywords: health services needs and demand, government, epidemiology, state medicine, economics, sociology, trends, delivery, life expectancy, health, public health, mortality, environmental, health priorities, humans, education, socioeconomic factors, financing, population, health services accessibility, investments, great britain, medical, nutrition, health care rationing, health promotion, statistics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 61794
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/61794
PURE UUID: 8ba6178a-9981-4632-9723-d0cc6e52e32c

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Date deposited: 10 Sep 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 11:28

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Contributors

Author: Steve George
Author: Steven Julious

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