Impact of health science research on the Spanish health system, based on bibliometric and healthcare indicators

The present study aimed to determine the possible impact of medical research on the Spanish health system. To this end, an analysis was conducted of Spanish researchers’ scientific production, measured in terms of the publications cited in MEDLINE, along with a series of economic, demographic and socio-sanitary data such as the R&D resources allocated to medical science, the actual population during the period studied mortality, morbidity and drug spending. The results showed increases in all the variables studied, identified the areas most intensely researched and defined the relationship between this information and the chief causes of mortality, morbidity and drug spending.