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Previous Volume 334:604-608 February 29, 1996 Number 9 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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The United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), created in 1948, is a publicly financed system that provides universal access to health care within a moderate and fixed budget. Reforms introduced in 1991 by the government led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sought to contain costs, maintain equity, and at the same time make the allocation of resources more efficient by introducing some features of a market, constrained by the overall budget and the principle of universal access. These reforms created what is known as an "internal market" in health care, in which providers are permitted a degree of competition. Publicly . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Reforms

Have the Reforms Been Successful?

Future Developments

Conclusions

Source Information

University of York
Heslington, York YO1 5DD, United Kingdom

References

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• Donaldson, C., Bate, A., Brambleby, P., Waldner, H. (2008). Moving forward on rationing: an economic view. BMJ 337: a1872-a1872 [Full Text]  
• Bloor, K., Freemantle, N. (1996). Fortnightly Review: Lessons from international experience in controlling pharmaceutical expenditure II: influencing doctors. BMJ 312: 1525-1527 [Full Text]