All this angry shouting about healthcare reform must be really bad for people’s blood pressure. But it is no joking matter. “Health is wealth”, as they say. Nothing could be more serious.

In the heat of the debate taking place in the US, little light is being shed on what really matters: outcomes. But while the funding of healthcare is not a matter for this column, the management of it is. And it turns out that the task of introducing better healthcare for all is fundamentally a management challenge.