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In this paper the authors discuss the introduction of ?episodes of care?, a new systemfor monitoring hospital-linked patient care services. They consider the proposal in thecontext of clinical, financial and technical frameworks. The authors conclude thathealth planners are likely to benefit from the introduction of this form of monitoring.The proposed change would also allow more accurate analysis of the true cost ofinterventions. However, it is likely to require significant investment in informationtechnology and there may be loss of patient confidentiality.

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