The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expects market-driven reforms to increase the efficiency of health-care systems particularly if policymakers succeed in aligning incentives for multiple product and service suppliers to guarantee treatment outcome. The health-care reform of the Obama Administration reflects this approach. However, similar to the previous reform initiatives, it will be unable to ensure an efficient supply of necessary care unless performance is clearly defined in terms of treatment outcome. US regulatory initiatives, complementing the health-care bill, could put an end to the recent history of ill-defined market-driven reforms. The challenge is to navigate rather different views on the accessibility and marketability of different levels of outcome data and to coordinate seemingly conflicting regulatory agendas to promote properly constituted health-care markets.
World Competition