COMPARATIVE HEALTH-CARE SYSTEMSComparing health-care systems entails a vast
array of information, including historical back-
ground, cultural patterns and beliefs, geographic
considerations, as well as social, economic, and
political factors. It involves detailed descriptions
of policies and procedures, complex statistical
profiles, as well as an understanding of conceptual
frameworks, theory, and comparative methods.
The potential rewards of comparative work, how-
ever, balance the challenges. Whether there is
convergence in the structure and functioning of
health-care systems or not, many of the problems
faced by nations in delivering health-care to citi-
zens are similar. There are lessons to be learned
from comparing health-care systems internation-
ally that can only aid in addressing these problems.
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