Medical practice variation (MPV) is marked, apparently ubiquitous across the health sector, well documented, and continues to be a focus of professional and policy interest. MPV have stimulated two paths of investigation, one economic in emphasis and the other more clinical in orientation; while...

Medical practice variation and social disparities in health are pervasive features of health care systems. But what impact might everyday clinical decision making have in shaping such aggregate patterns, and could this in turn be influenced by the immediate environment in which family doctors...

Though there is much agreement on the importance of the social determinants of health, debate continues on suitable empirically-based models to underpin efforts to tackle health and health care disparities. We demonstrate an approach that uses a dynamic micro-simulation model of the early life...

It is hypothesized that unconditional (given without obligation) publicly funded financial credits more effectively improve health than conditional financial credits in high-income countries. We previously reported no discernible short-term impact of an employment-conditional tax credit for...

Evidence of the influence of research on health policy is paradoxical. While there is scant evidence that research has had any impact on the direction or implementation of widespread health reforms, research on evidence-based medicine has dramatically increased, despite limited evidence that it...

In the broad sweep the experience of New Zealand in health trends and patterns is similar to that of other advanced industrial societies, yet there are some important differences that draw on the country's colonial past and, more particularly, on its location in the South Pacific. Of special...