Martin McKee Libri

Capital investment in European health systems has to take account of an array of challenges and the demographic and epidemiological transitions associated with an ageing population; advances in medical technologies and pharmaceuticals; rising public expectations; and persistent health inequalities.This volume presents 11 case studies from across Europe and these offer a variety of perspectives on current issues relating to health capital investment and ways of trying to meet present challenges as well as those of the future. The case studies include the Orbis Medical Centre, Sittard, and the Martini Hospital, Groningen (both in the Netherlands); the St Olav's Hospital in Trondheim (Norway); the New Karolinska Solna Hospital in Stockholm (Sweden); the Coxa Hospital in Tampere (Finland); the Rhön Klinikum Group (Germany); the John Paul II Hospital in Krakow (Poland); the Alzira model in the Valencia region (Spain); regional planning in Northern Ireland and Tuscany (Italy); and the Private Finance Initiative (England).

The expanding scope of European law in areas that impinge on health care, coupled with a greater awareness by individuals and organisations within the European Union of the rights that this confers on them, has created new tensions. It throws into relief the challenge of ensuring that progress in developing an internal market enhances rather than undermines consumer safety and social protection. Resolving this challenge has become more important as the social dimension of what was first conceived as primarily an economic union has become more prominent.In December 2001 the Belgian presidency of the European Union convened a conference in Ghent on the implications of European law for the social nature of health care. Two complementary books emerged from this process. This volume provides an in-depth analysis of some of the most important issues facing health policy makers in Europe. Leading commentators present a range of perspectives from the legal profession on the current situation and prospects for the future, providing a detailed map of the often-labyrinthine body of European law and how it impacts on health care.