Editorial

It is a true honour to serve as the guest editor for the 25th anniversary of the Journal of Health Management. We are also fortunate to receive a large number of submissions for this special issue, and after reviews, only 11 articles were accepted for publication. We are grateful to the reviewers who dedicated countless hours to the review process, a task which is often underappreciated. The accepted papers were written by distinguished authors from over half a dozen countries and over a dozen institutions, which is a testament to the global nature, appeal and recognition of not only the theme of the special issue but also the journal itself.

In this special issue, the papers are dealing with three critical aspects of the healthcare industry, namely, health insurance, healthcare financing and health expenditures in developed and developing nations. Two specific current and very timely health status—related topics—mental health and COVID-19—are also discussed in some papers. The authors of some papers have also done a fantastic job of providing greater insights into the roles that poverty and inequality play in healthcare expenditures. It was also refreshing to see that some papers have highlighted the concept of ‘patient values’ and how they drive health expenditures in the global marketplace. We believe that ‘value’ is a relative term which is often misunderstood and misused and one that different professions, and individual, look at only from their own perspective and how does that (i.e., value) benefit them in the financial sense. In healthcare, value should always try to put in terms of the patient, and how it benefits them. The greater the value that the patient receives and perceives, the great the level of satisfaction can be expected from the whole healthcare delivery by these individuals. Of course, if the costs of healthcare are way too high and the receiver of the healthcare delivery may determine the value received not based on the quality of care but more on the cost of care. A positive perceived value of healthcare received can have a positive impact on the patient’s health and mental well-being, which in turn can result in a more satisfied consumer. The collection of articles presented in this special issue is a good indication that researchers worldwide are looking into the critical topics mentioned above, which in itself is a positive sign for future academic research.