Funding and delivery: Valuing the alternatives

It is not possible to make a totally objective analysis of any health care system without assuming various values. These values, in turn, assume that the delivery of health care should conform to various criteria. The Institute of Health Services Management (IHSM) set up a study which attempts to establish a framework of criteria against which alternative systems of funding can be tested. The conclusions of the study are based on a series of working papers which examined the available evidence. In addition the study contains a brief discussion of the management and organisation of the National Health Service.