How to ensure quality of health accounts.

Policy makers need up-to-date and reliable information to formulate health policies and monitor their implementation. Given that financing is one of the pillars of the health system, quality of financing data is essential. Quality is a key element but difficult to measure. Increasing quality on financing data involves the use of standard procedures and methods. Current standard framework, the System of Health Accounts 2011, needs to be implemented with checks and controls on the individual as well as aggregated data. Data input on the construction of the accounts and their related metadata are subject to quality measures. In this paper we address a first proposal of the components of the quality in health accounts reporting. The paper assesses Quality Of Health Accounts at four stages: (1) Design; (2) Development; (3) Management; and (4) Reporting. It explains what is needed at each stage to ensure reliable results which are fit for informing decision-making. Quality is essential for reliability and trust among all stakeholders, who are responsible of data provision, construction of the accounts and using their results. Quality measurement in health accounts is a reality needing effort.

The "Health Benefit Basket" in France.

The French "Health Benefit Basket" is defined principally by positive lists of reimbursed goods and services; however, global budget-financed hospital-delivered services are more implicitly defined. The range of reimbursable curative care services is defined by two coexisting positive lists/fee schedules: the Classification Commune des Actes Médicaux (CCAM) and the Nomenclature Générale des Actes Professionnels (NGAP). The National Union of Health Insurance Funds has been updating these positive lists since August 2004, with the main criterion for inclusion being the proposed procedure's effectiveness. This is assessed by the newly created High Health authority (replacing the former ANAES). In addition, complementary health insurers are consulted in the inclusion process due to their important role in French health care financing.