The SMF Health Project is a major two year study looking at the future of the health system in England. The past few years have seen unprecedented investment in healthcare that has brought the UK into line with the rest of Europe. While waiting times have come down, over the same period health costs have risen and public health has not significantly improved. With an ageing population, expensive new medical treatments, ever more demanding patients and an end to large funding increases for the NHS, the time is now right to look ahead at the health system of the future.
These background papers provide an extensive review of the literature on different aspects of health policy – from the implications of ageing to the reformed provider market in the NHS. Intended as an introduction for the general reader these papers also identify the key challenges facing the health system and suggest areas for further research. The SMF Health Project will be building on these background papers and publishing a series of reports on key aspects of health policy before a final publications in 2009.
- SMF Health Project Background Paper 1 – An overview of Health Systems Reform and the NHS
- SMF Health Project Background Paper 2 – Demography and Technology: External pressures for Change
- SMF Health Project Background Paper 3 – Commissioning Healthcare
- SMF Health Project Background Paper 4 – Providers of Healthcare
- SMF Health Project Background Paper 5 – Patients in the Health System
