HEALTH HAWK

We need efficient systems for listening to people and testing different ways to improve health​.

This website is designed to support anyone wanting to build healthier health systems. We provide resources (tools, methods and infrastructures) to help the public, patients, health practitioners and providers channel real-time data. This will help us all identify the most promising interventions to improve health.

Vision

Building healthy health systems

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a health system as “any activity whose primary purpose is to promote, restore and/ or maintain health.”

A health system is the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. A health system can be small or large, privately owned or funded through public/charitable means. A single practitioner, or group of practitioners working in a clinic, or a GP practice, can all be viewed as small health systems. Some health systems serve much larger populations such as hospitals or even entire countries, such as the publicly funded UK National Health Service (NHS).

Healthy health systems

Health is the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO).

So what is a healthy health system?

• A healthy health system has a clear purpose.
• A healthy health system is resilient and sustainable.
• A healthy health system gives appropriate care and advice.
• A healthy health system uses its resources wisely.
• A healthy health system carefully receives the information it needs and uses this information to achieve its purpose.