title: How to ensure quality of health accounts.
abstract: Policy makers need up-to-date and reliable information to formulate health policies and monitor their implementation. Given that financing is one of the pillars of the health system, quality of financing data is essential. Quality is a key element but difficult to measure. Increasing quality on financing data involves the use of standard procedures and methods. Current standard framework, the System of Health Accounts 2011, needs to be implemented with checks and controls on the individual as well as aggregated data. Data input on the construction of the accounts and their related metadata are subject to quality measures. In this paper we address a first proposal of the components of the quality in health accounts reporting. The paper assesses Quality Of Health Accounts at four stages: (1) Design; (2) Development; (3) Management; and (4) Reporting. It explains what is needed at each stage to ensure reliable results which are fit for informing decision-making. Quality is essential for reliability and trust among all stakeholders, who are responsible of data provision, construction of the accounts and using their results. Quality measurement in health accounts is a reality needing effort.
authors.affiliation: Consultant, Dignaland 41, 2591 CB, The Netherlands. Electronic address: vanmosseveldc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cornelis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Mosseveld
authors.affiliation: NIDI, Consultant, Lange Houtstraat 29, The Hague, The Netherlands. Electronic address: hernandez@nidi.nl.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hernández-Peña
authors.affiliation: Consultant, Rua Maria Helena Rocha 113 apto 1302 A, Joao Pessoa, Brazil. Electronic address: damanter@terra.com.br.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Arán
authors.affiliation: WHO HQ, Avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Electronic address: cherilovav@who.int.
authors.forename: Veneta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cherilova
authors.affiliation: WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, Abdul Razzak Al Sanhouri Street, Nasr City, Cairo 11371, Egypt. Electronic address: matariaa@who.int.
authors.forename: Awad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mataria
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics*; D061889:Healthcare Financing; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care
keywords: Health Accounts; Policy and quality; Quality indicators; Quality of data