Epic Measures: One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients.

In the book, Epic Measures: One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients., journalist Jeremy Smith examines the work of Christopher Murray, the medical doctor and economist who pioneered the Global Burden of Disease studies in 1990 in an attempt to better understand the threats to the health of humanity. The studies, produced  by the World Health Organization, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (a health research institute), and various academic partners, analyze the varying impact of health issues across the globe, assessing the availability of public health systems, governments’ efforts to fund health programs, and frequency of illnesses. Murray used data sources such as hospital records, household surveys, and government figures to conduct the studies, which seek to measure how people live and die—the understanding of which Murray believed was a prerequisite to improving quality of life.

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