ABSTRACT
Throughout the world, societies are striving to determine how best to organise their health systems and deliver services. Increasingly, there is a recognition that the development and evaluation of new therapies and diagnostic tools is only part of the answer to better health care. As we enter a new era of biological understanding of disease following the mapping of the human genome, the demands on the way we organise services will become even greater. This pressure will be enhanced by the rising expectations of consumers and greater access to information. It is essential, therefore, that in parallel to biomedical research and health technology assessment, we advance our understanding and knowledge of how best to organise and deliver health services. Without this, we run the risk of failing to realise the potential benefits that health systems can provide.
