Work on health data covers a wide range of policy relevant topics, from population health status and non-medical determinants of health to health care resources and their utilisation. Data are also collected on health insurance coverage and on health care within overall social protection systems.

To tackle this complex task, the health data team works not only on a regular data collection process to provide statistical support for policy analysis, but also on methodological questions of health statistics to provide guidance for further developing national health information systems and international comparisons.

A major focus of our work is on health accounts and other financial data on health care. The OECD manual A System of Health Accounts (SHA) presents a new consensus on accounting rules and proposes an International Classification for Health Accounts for harmonised reporting. Health accountants will find on these pages useful tools for implementing the SHA framework, along with information on SHA-Based Health Accounts in OECD Countries.

A core statistical activity is the annual release of OECD Health Data, a comprehensive database including more than 1200 indicators on the health care systems of the OECD member countries. The OECD Health Data web site presents detailed information on the database, which is available online on subscription from SourceOECD or on CD-ROM, and includes free data and software updates to download. The fourth edition of Health at a Glance, an analytical presentation of core health data, was released in November 2007.

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