Policy & analysis
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Council conclusions on common values and principles in EU health systems
This is a statement by the 25 health ministers of the European Union about the common values and principles that underpin Europe’s health systems. (European Commission)
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European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services
To develop, implement, monitor and evaluate actions to strengthen public health capacity and services in a broad participatory and consultative process involving all 53 European Member States and main international partners. (WHO/Europe)
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The Tallinn Charter: Health Systems for Health and Wealth
Commits Member States to improving people’s health by strengthening health systems, while acknowledging social, cultural and economic diversity across the Region. (WHO/Europe)
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Towards social investment for growth and cohesion – including implementing the European Social Fund 2014–2020
Communication from the European Commission to the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. (European Commission)
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White paper: together for health: a strategic approach for the European Union 2008–2013
White paper containing a coherent framework for a European Commission strategy for activities in health. (European Commission)
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Investing in health
European Commission staff working document, which complements the Commission communication Towards social investment for growth and cohesion – including implementing the European social fund 2014–2020 by showing how investing in health contributes to the Europe 2020 objective of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. (European Commission)
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Assuring the quality of health care in the European Union: a case for action
Examines the systems in place in the 27 European Union countries: some have well developed systems, with standards based on the best available evidence, monitoring the care provided and taking action where it falls short; others must overcome significant obstacles. (WHO/Europe and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies)
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Decentralization in health care: strategies and outcomes
Capacity for and impact of decentralization within European health-care systems, providing both the theoretical basis and recent practical experience from both published literature and the field; also assesses the appropriateness of management processes in health systems for successful decentralization. (WHO/Europe and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies)
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European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies supports and promotes evidence-based health policy-making through comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the dynamics of health care systems in Europe.
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Financing health care in the European Union
Focuses on the three health care funding functions – collection, pooling and purchasing – and on coverage; analyses the organization of health care financing in the Member States of the European Union, discusses the principal funding reform trends of recent years and assesses their capacity to help ensure fiscal sustainability. (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies)
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Health at a glance: Europe
This second edition presents the most recent indicators of health and health systems in 35 countries: the 27 European Union countries, five candidate countries and three European Free Trade Association countries. (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
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Health care systems: efficiency and institutions
Presents indicators for assessing health-care system performance, with new comparative data on health-care policies and institutions in countries. (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
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Health systems and the challenge of communicable diseases: experiences from Europe and Latin America
Health systems everywhere face constant change as they seek to respond to evolving patterns of disease. This report assesses the extent to which human societies and their governments are prepared for the challenges and reviews the experiences of countries in Europe and Latin America in developing effective responses. (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies)
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Health systems institutional characteristics: a survey of 29 OECD countries
Working paper describing country-specific arrangements to organize population coverage against health risks and the funding of health spending; describes the organization of health-care delivery and presents information on governance and resource allocation in health systems (decentralization in decision-making, nature of budget constraints and priority-setting). (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development )
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Implementing health financing reform: lessons from countries in transition
Reviews the background to health funding systems and reform in central and eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia, starting with the legacy of the systems in the USSR and central and eastern Europe before 1990 and the consequences (particularly fiscal) of the transition for their organization and performance. (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies)
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International profiles of health care systems, 2014
Overviews of the health care systems of Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. (Commonwealth Fund)
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Joint report on health systems
The main features of health systems across the European Union. (European Commission and the Economic Policy Committee)
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OECD health statistics
The OECD Health Database offers the most comprehensive source of comparable statistics on health and health systems across OECD countries. It is an essential tool to carry out comparative analyses and draw lessons from international comparisons of diverse health systems. (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD))
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Research*EU: special issue on healthcare: healthy ageing and the future of public healthcare systems
Shows that healthy ageing and the future of public health-care systems features in most recent exercises and prospective studies around the world as the most important emerging challenge. (European Commission)
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The changing national role in health system governance: a case-based study of 11 European countries and Australia
An overview of recent changes in the role of national governments in the governance of health systems and efforts to reconfigure responsibilities for health policy, regulation and management; the resultant policy priorities; and the initial impact. (WHO/Europe)
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The European health report 2009: health and health systems
Facts and public health trends in the European Region and the strengthening of health systems in each of the following functions: service delivery, resource generation, financing and stewardship. (WHO/Europe)