Long abstract

About Statistics Publications & Documents Information by Country

Science and technology improves human health but the pressure for faster and larger improvements is building with the continued ageing of the population of many OECD countries and the associated increased demands for health care. A fundamental starting point for better understanding the impact of innovation on health is the measurement of research and development.

This publication addresses this issue by looking in detail at measurement practices across ten OECD Member countries as well as the main international sources. A number of new insights are gained including the growing importance of clinical trials, the contribution of hospitals and the role of provincial and local government. The book also identifies a number of issues that need to be considered when making comparisons based on the most obvious health-related R&D series in international publications.