EIRP Proceedings, Vol 3 (2008)

Abstract

One of the main objectives of the Programme of Community Action în the Field of Public
Health (2003-2008) is to improve the analysis and knowledge of the impact of health policy developments and of
other Community policies and activities. The economic and social development of a country influences the public
health care systems for it ensures improved quality standards. Also, it has an impact on developing principles
and strategies for evaluating health policies as well as creating other links between public health and other
policies.
A set of indicators on health system performance are to be developed from the “System of Health
Accounts” (SHA) and other relevant data în European countries. The proposed indicators relate to four
dimensions of health system performance: sustainability, efficiency, effectiveness, and access, including equity.
The choice of dimensions, and their related indicators, has been guided by EU policy objectives for health and
health care.
Regarding primary health care quality standards în Romania, we suggest that future research be
carried în the fields of: development, testing and evaluation of new ways to implement quality standards through
operational research; the links between this process, contributions and outcomes; the relationship between
quality and other health system variables, such as demand, costs, revenues, and equity, development of
comprehensive quality indicators, input and outcome variables that allow researchers and policy makers to
compare quality across time, space and different types of care providers.