* CONTENTS

1. Introduction 2. National Health Accounts 3. Institutional Arrangement 4. Structure of Health Expenditures 5. Conclusions

* SUMMARY

National Health Accounts (NHA) is a set of accounts which has been developed for describing the expenditure flows in both the public and private components of the health sector. It is important data for health policy decision-making and a tool for comparing health system performance and characteristics across nations. NHA provides consistent methods, concepts, category definitions and comparable data compilation techniques that enable meaningful international comparisons in health resources allocation. The analytical framework of the current NHA is based largely on the OECD’s work that has been accepted by the WHO and World Bank as the international standard. It employs a “source and uses” matrix and identifies the “flow of funds”. Three aspects of the flow of funds are included in the analysis: sources of funds, financing intermediary and uses of funds...