Governmental policies in all countries strongly influence the medical services available to society. It is therefore essential that decision makers be aware of changing demands and needs for health resources and services. In light of this, the Health Care Systems (HCS) Modeling Task of the Human Settlement and Services (HSS) Area has set a goal of creating a model that will assist national decision makers in formulating policy. This model consists of a number of linked submodels dealing with various related topics from population growth to resource allocation. Some of these submodels have already been tested, and collaborating national research centers have started to implement them with their own data. The resulting experience of the past several years is described in this review, which has been prepared by members of the HCS Modeling group. By sharing our aims and achievements with a wider audience, we hope to facilitate future international collaborative work on this research
