Classifying Health Care Products

The health system provides health care goods and services to the population in the form of health care products. Health products are repeatedly referred to throughout the SHA 2011 Manual and, as such, a standardised concept of what a health product is should be established as a basis for any analysis of the production and consumption processes. This annex discusses the development of a classification of health care products based on their composition and characteristics. The categories presented are not intended as a definitive classification at this stage. The annex also includes an initial overview of the potential uses of such a classification and a brief reference to products as mentioned in the main chapters.