title: On the road towards better health gain through co-operation in the European Union?
abstract: Explained are some 4 paradoxes, amongst many others, in healthcare and hospital policy and the turbulent "changes" and so-called changes they are going through all over Europe:--change vs being changed?--cost vs investment?--compete vs co-operate?--patients vs healthcare workers? There is certainly not yet a politically explicit option for a comprehensive European (Union) healthcare system. The national governments explicitly want to keep their part of the social organisation of society in their own hands. But at the same time the EU is active in the healthcare field when exercising its (reduced) competencies in public health and in data comparison as well as when acting in its very broad domains of the internal market. The informative and benchmarking role of the EU is immense and it has huge means to stimulate European networks and scientific research even in healthcare systems and policymaking. A strong message here is certainly to correctly invest in real health gain for patients and society through co-operation and networking among the many stakeholders in health and healthcare. The challenge for the future, for the numerous actors on the very slippery slope of health is to keep upright as moderate consumers, producers and rulers. This appeal to moderation, i.e. to prevention of exaggeration, which comes down to an attitude of subsidiarity, is a general conclusion, which may seem idealistic. However, one can qualify it also as "2000 realism" which our western social healthcare systems need for surviving, as they will have to see to a more solidarity-based coverage of health risks instead of reserving healthcare to the rich, and as they will have to open their social quality systems even more throughout the world.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schutyser
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D005062:European Union; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000639:trends; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000191:economics; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male