MONITORING HEALTH-CARE IN THE UNITED-STATES - A CHALLENGING TASK

SURVEYS HAVE PROVIDED magnificent information about the health of the American people, but they rarely con-tribute to our understanding of h ow medical services affect people's health. The authors explore the op portunity to harness the medical services system to provide informatio n that clarifies the relationship between people's health and the serv ices they receive. They also note the risk posed by managed care-that competition and cost-cutting may pit the health industry against acces s to and standardization of health services data-but see hope in recen t legislation.