From value for money to value-based health services: a twenty-first century shift

Overview

Health policy makers around the world have long shown interest in the value created by health systems and this preoccupation will likely only intensify in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing global recession. Yet, there remains much confusion about what value actually means and none of the existing approaches has looked at value holistically, from the perspective of the entire health system.

WHO’s policy brief explicitly looks at how to value health more holistically by working through 3 levers which act at the system level- setting a health benefits package, strategic purchasing and integrated people-centred health services -- to advance UHC objectives. WHO guidance on those 3 levers are highlighted, such as the “3D” (Data, Dialogue, Decision) approach to priority setting for benefits package selection, the “UHC Compendium”, and the Integrated, People-Centred Health Services Framework