How healthy are the Dutch and how effective are disease prevention measures and health care in relation to the spiralling costs? RIVM provides insight into trends in health status, and information on prevention and health care in its ‘Public Health Status and Forecasts' report, published every four years. This document is produced for use by the Dutch Government in policy development.

Up-to-date information system 
RIVM collects data from various sources, which it integrates into a comprehensive information system on public health and the healthcare system for Dutch policy-makers. The data are analysed and made available to the Dutch government as input for development of public health and healthcare policies.

Websites and publications
All information is available on websites and in thematic reports, along with the ‘Public Health Status and Forecasts’. This report records major trends and developments in public health, and explores selected aspects in depth, as agreed with the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

Modelling future developments
As well as collecting data, RIVM has the task of predicting future developments with the aid of mathematical models. These models are used in comparing alternative policy measures with regard to expected benefits, costs and effectiveness.

International activities
In the area of international health information the RIVM has managed several projects sponsored by the European Commission and WHO. The European Community Health Indicators (ECHI) project has produced a set of health indicators for the EU. This project has also launched the ICHI-website where you can find all defintions of health indicators as provided by Eurostat, OECD and WHO. The EUPHIX project, sponsored by the European Commission, aims to develop a prototype for a webbased European health information system.  
The RIVM also hosts the website of the WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications (FIC-website), which informs about the development, maintenance and use of international classifications for research and ICT purposes.