Abstract
Hard numbers can be difficult to come by in the current debate about health care in the US. Even rarer are accurate assessments of health care systems in less developed countries. But policy makers are not completely groping in the dark when it comes to data—thanks in part to Christopher Murray. Two years ago, Murray, a physician and health economist with experience at the World Health Organization (WHO), took the helm of the newly created Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Since 2007, the institute, funded largely by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the state of Washington, has grown to a staff of 75 people and has begun churning out studies that that are shaping the debate on health care reform. For instance, Murray's group—along with colleagues at his former base, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts—have documented huge disparities in life expectancy and mortality in parts of the US. In some pockets of the country, life expectancy for women is even on the decline (PLoS Med. 27, e66; 2008). Murray spoke with Charlotte Schubert about how having accurate numbers can add up to progress in health care.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schubert, C. Straight talk with...Christopher Murray. Nat Med 15, 1104–1105 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1009-1104
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1009-1104