Non-expenditure health care data provide information on institutions providing health care in countries, on resources used and on output produced in the framework of health care provision.
Data on health care form a major element of public health information as they describe the capacities available for different types of health care provision as well as potential 'bottlenecks' observed. The quantity and quality of health care services provided and the work sharing established between the different institutions are a subject of ongoing debate in all countries. Sustainability - continuously providing the necessary monetary and personal resources needed - and meeting the challenges of ageing societies are the primary perspectives used when analysing and using the data.
The output-related data ('activities') refer to contacts between patients and the health care system, and to the treatment thereby received. Data are available for hospital discharges of in-patients and day cases, average length of stay of in-patients and medical procedures performed in hospitals.
Annual national and regional data are provided in absolute numbers and in population-standardised rates (per 100 000 inhabitants).
Wherever applicable, the definitions and classifications of the System of Health Accounts (SHA) are followed, e.g. International Classification for Health Accounts - Providers of health care (ICHA-HP). For hospital discharges, the International Shortlist for Hospital Morbidity Tabulation (ISHMT) is used.
Health care data on activities are largely based on administrative data sources in the countries. Therefore, they reflect the country-specific way of organising health care and may not always be completely comparable.
