A World Health Organization report concerning strategies for promoting communication and collaboration between and within the health and educational systems is presented. Changes that are needed to increase communication and collaboration are identified separately for the health services system and the health manpower training system. In addition to reviewing recommendations of past reports and research studies, attention is directed to case studies from Switzerland, Sweden, and Poland. These studies consider possibilities for improvement of communication and collaboration at different levels (national, institutional, professional, and individual), and specifically address the links between health care and medical education. Some reference is also made to the education of other health personnel, including nurses. For each level, constraints in improving health and education communication and collaboration are identified. It is concluded that improved communication and collaboration can help change both systems in the sense of a better orientation to the health needs of the population. This implies a reorientation from a largely hospital-based and biomedical model toward a concept of health promotion and maintenance through primary care. A bibliography and the three case studies are appended. (SW)