New Zealand's health system: national policy goals and decentralized service planning and delivery

To inaugurate the fifth year of its publication, The American Heart Hospital Journal (AHHJ) focused its Winter 2007 issue on health care systems from around the world, with 8 articles contributed by national leaders in their respective countries. Due to the interest and wide range of expertise in the international cardiac community, we will continue to publish Special Reports throughout 2007 on this topic. We invite members of the international community to share with readers of the AHHJ, their insights on the strengths and weaknesses of their respective health care and cardiac care systems, as well as their ideas and aspirations for future change.