"This thoughtful and comprehensive book represents the best work I have seen on the current situation concerning medication policies in the EU. It is not just that this is a very up-to-date compendium of facts and data across a wide variety of domains that impact on pharmaceutical regulation. The book is also strong on analysis of those facts as well." Jerry Avorn, Harvard Medical School. "This book offers a comprehensive examination of approaches to manage pharmaceutical expenditures in Europe. It is a must-read for those who seek to understand and navigate the changing regulatory environment for medicines in the European Union." Bernie O'Brien, McMaster University, Canada. The rising cost of pharmaceutical expenditures in many European countries is of concern to governments required to make effective use of health care budgets. Taking a broad perspective that encompasses institutional, political and supranational aspects of pharmaceutical regulation, this book examines approaches used to manage pharmaceutical expenditure across Europe and what impact these strategies have had on efficiency, quality, equity and cost of pharmaceutical care.Regulating Pharmaceuticals in Europe is an important book for students of health policy, regulation and management, and for health managers and policy makers. The editors: Elias Mossialos is Brian Abel-Smith Professor of Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Research Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Monique Mrazek is a Health Economist (Europe and Central Asia region) for the World Bank and formerly a Research Officer in Health Economics for the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Tom Walley is Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Liverpool and Director of the UK National Health Technology Assessment Programme. Contributors: Julia Abelson, Christa Altenstetter, Vittorio Bertele’, Christine Bond, Marcel L. Bouvy, Colin Bradley, Steve Chapman, Anna Dixon, Michael Drummond, Pierre Durieux, Edzard Ernst, Armin Fidler, Eric Fortess, Richard Frank, Silvio Garattini, Leigh Hancher, Ebba Holme Hansen, Steve Hudson, Kees de Jonchere, Panos Kanavos, Sjoerd Kooiker, Jean-Marc Leder, Graham Lewis, Donald W. Light, Alistair McGuire, Elias Mossialos, Monique Mrazek, Maria Pia Orru', Govin Permanand, Guenka Petrova, Munir Pirmohamed, Dennis Ross-Degnan, Frans Rutten, Steven Soummerai, David Taylor, Sarah Thomson, Tom Walley.

Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) systems were introduced in Europe to increase the transparency of services provided by hospitals and to incentivise greater efficiency in the use of resources invested in acute hospitals. In many countries, these systems were also designed to contribute to improving – or at least protecting – the quality of care. After more than a decade of experience with using DRGs in Europe, this book considers whether the extensive use of DRGs has contributed towards achieving these objectives. Written by authors with extensive experience of these systems, this book is a product of the EuroDRG project and constitutes an important resource for health policy-makers and researchers from Europe and beyond. The book is intended to contribute to the emergence of a ‘common language’ that will facilitate communication between researchers and policy-makers interested in improving the functioning and resourcing of the acute hospital sector. The book includes: A clearly structured introduction to the main ‘building blocks’ of DRG systems An overview of key issues related to DRGs including their impact on efficiency, quality, unintended effects and technological innovation in health care 12 country chapters - Austria, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden Clearly structured and detailed information about the most important DRG system characteristics in each of these countries Useful insights for countries and regions in Europe and beyond interested in introducing, extending and/ or optimising DRG systems within the hospital sector

Public health has had positive results in the last two centuries when it comes to reducing the impact and prevalence of infectious disease.However, much remains to be done to reduce non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer, which make up the major disease burden of the WHO European Region. This book takes a broad but detailed approach to public health in Europe and offers the most comprehensive analysis of this region currently available. It considers a huge range of key topics in public health and includes chapters on the following topics: Screening Health Promotion Tackling social determinants of health Health Impact Assessment The Public Health Workforce Public Health Research In addition to these topics and themes the authors consider the existing public health structures, capacities and services across a range of European countries; identifying what needs to be done to strengthen public health action and improve public health outcomes.Reflecting the broad geographical scope of the entire WHO European region this book uses examples from a diverse range of countries to illustrate different approaches to public health. This book is essential reading for anyone studying or working in the field of public health, especially those with an interest in European practice. This title is in the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies Series.

·What are the characteristics that define a Social Health Insurance system? ·How is success measured in SHI systems? ·How are SHI systems developing in response to external pressures? Using the seven Social Health Insurance countries in western Europe - Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland - as well as Israel, this important book reviews core structural and organizational dimensions, as well as recent reforms and innovations. Covering a wide range of policy issues, the book: ·Explores the pressures these health systems confront to be more efficient, more effective, and more responsive ·Reviews their success in addressing these pressures ·Examines the implications of change on the structure of SHI’s as they are currently defined ·Draws out policy lessons about past experience and likely future developments in SHI systems in a manner useful to policymakers in Europe and elsewhere Social Health Insurance Systems in Western Europe will be of interest to students of health policy and management as well as health managers and policy-makers. Contributors: Helmut Brand, Jan Bultman, Reinhard Busse, Laurent Chambaud, David Chinitz, Diana M.J. Delnoij, André P. den Exter, Aad A. de Roo, Anna Dixon, Isabelle Durand-Zaleski, Hans F.W. Dubois, Josep Figueras, Bernhard Gibis, Stefan Greß, Bernhard J. Güntert, Jean Hermesse, Maria M. Hofmarcher, Martin McKee, Pedro W. Koch-Wulkan, Claude Le Pen, Kieke G.H. Okma, Martin Pfaff, Richard B. Saltman, Wendy G.M. van der Kraan, Jürgen Wasem, Manfred Wildner, Matthias Wismar.

The book will focus on three key aspects of delivery of child health services: service integration and coordination, public health measures, and enhancing the quality of care for children. Taking a child-centric view on understanding how health services and systems work the book aims to contribute towards improving children’s health through deepening the understanding of children’s health services.Focusing primarily on the western European countries the book draws on research conducted with child health leaders in ten countries: Austria, Britain, Finland, France, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. The chapters include clinical scenarios designed to help identify and describe the various ways in which children and their families negotiate health services when dealing with twelve different conditions. Using clinical scenarios in this way allows the book authors to capture the diverse aspects of each health system as well as assessment and analysis of the challenges involved in each, and their successes and failures.

Economic shocks pose a threat to health and health system performance by increasing people’s need for health care and making access to care more difficult – a situation compounded by cuts in public spending on health and other social services. But these negative effects can be avoided by timely public policy action. While important public policy levers lie outside the health sector, in the hands of those responsible for fiscal policy and social protection, the health system response is critical. This book looks at how health systems in Europe reacted to pressure created by the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008. Drawing on the experience of over 45 countries, the authors:  analyse health system responses to the crisis in three policy areas: public funding for the health system; health coverage; and health service planning, purchasing and delivery assess the impact of these responses on health systems and population health identify policies most likely to sustain the performance of health systems facing financial pressure explore the political economy of implementing reforms in a crisis The book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the choices available to policy-makers - and the implications of failing to protect health and health-system performance - in the face of economic and other forms of shock.

We are proud to announce that this book is joint winner of the EHMA Baxter Award 2007. "A genuinely fantastic resourse; such a rare text that provides such factual information for students and lecturers. A rich review of the subject areas from across Europe. Fantastic text." Chris Kelly, Programme Leader, Bournemouth University "Mental Health Policy and Practice Across Europe is a fascinating, complicated volume that looks at one of the key dimensions of contemporary mental health policy development in Europe — the role of the European Union (EU)." Medicine Weekly In much of Europe it remains taboo to discuss the challenges that poor mental health raises for governments, societies and particularly for people with mental health problems themselves. This book maps the current state of policy, service provision and funding for mental health care across Europe, taking into account the differing historical contexts that have shaped both the development and delivery of services. A holistic approach is adopted that aims to assess the influence on mental health of environmental factors such as housing, poverty, employment, social justice and displacement. Covering a wide range of policy issues, the book: Examines the legal rights of people with mental health problems Addresses the impact of stigma, social exclusion and discrimination Reviews the role of users and their families in the development of mental health services and policy Reflects on approaches to reform and on the future development of services Evaluates opportunities for the rehabilitation of people with mental health problems Discusses the financing and organisation of mental health systems Reflects on approaches to reform and the future development of services Mental Health Policy and Practice Across Europe is key reading for policy makers, professionals involved in the delivery of health and social care services, voluntary agencies, non-governmental organizations, academics and students of health policy. Contributors: Francesco Amaddeo, University of Verona, Italy; Peter Anderson, Department of Primary Care, University of Oxford; Robert Anderson, Research Director, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working ; Terry Brugha, University of Leicester; Peter Bower, National Primary Care Research and Development Centre, University of Mancheste; Lorenzo Burti, University of Verona, Italy; Kathryn Berzins, Claire Curran; Paul Cutler, The Hamlet Trust; Natalie Drew, Dept of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, Genev; Angelo Fioritti, University of Bologna, Italy; Michelle Funk, Dept of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, Geneva; Simon Gilbody, Department of Psychiatry, University of Leeds; Vidar Halsteinli, SINTEF, Oslo, Norway; Robert Hayward, The Hamlet Trust; Rachel Jenkins, WHO Collaborating Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London; Heinz Katschnig, University of Vienna, Austria; Robert Keukens, Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry, Hilversum, The Netherlands; Susan Kirkwood, European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness, Belgium; Martin Knapp, Director, PSSRU and LSE Health and Social Care, London School of Economics and Political Science, London; Viviane Kovess, MGEN, Pari; Eva Jane Llopis, Prevention Research Centre, Academic Centre for Social Sciences and Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Jo Lucas, The Hamlet Trust; Ville Lehtinen, National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES), Helsinki, Finland; Lorenza Magliano, Department of Psychiatry, University of Naples, Italy; David McDaid, LSE Health and Social Care and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Economics and Political Science; Elias Mossialos, Director, LSE Health and Social Care and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Economics and Political Science; Camilla Parker, Legal and Policy Consultant, Open Society Institute Budapest; Dainius Puras, Department of Social Pediatrics and Child Psychiatry, Vilnius Medical University; Roxana Radulescu, Mental Health Europe, Brussels; Diana Rose, Service Users Research Enterprise, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London; Nikolas Rose, Department of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science; Luis Salvador, University of Cadiz, Spain; Benedetto Saraceno, Director, Mental Health, World Health Organization, Geneva; Liz Sayce, Director, Disability Rights Commission; Edward Shorter, University of Toronto; Michele Tansella, University of Verona; Graham Thornicroft, Health Services Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London; Toma Tomov, Department of Psychiatry, University of Sofia, Bulgaria; Charles Watters, University of Kent, Canterbury; Richard Wynne, The Work Research Centre, Dublin; Robert Van Voren, General Secretary, Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry, Hilversum, The Netherlands; Ingrid Zechmeister, University of Vienna

In the last 40 years the health of Europeans overall has improved markedly yet progress has been very uneven from country to country. Successes and Failures of Health Policy in Europe considers the impact health policy has had on population health in Europe. It asks key questions about mortality trends and health policy activity, such as: Do between-country differences in rates of smoking-related diseases reflect differences in tobacco-control policies? What would be a country's health gain if it implemented the policies of the best-performing country? Which social, economic and political factors influence a country's success in health policy? This book fills an important gap by offering a comparative analysis of the successes and failures of health policy in different European countries. In doing so it helps readers identify best practices in health improvement from which other countries can learn. The book explores how policy impact can be quantified and identifies which aspects of policy we can learn from when tackling the determinants of health in our populations. Written by experts and based on the latest evidence-based research, this volume is a must have for policy makers and those working in healthcare as professionals, researchers and students alike.

How can we improve health, wealth and societal well-being by investing in health systems? How can we ensure that health systems are sustained in the future? How can we monitor, manage and improve performance so that health systems are as effective and efficient as possible? This book looks at health systems from a new perspective. By reviewing the complex relationship between health systems, health and wealth, it argues that health systems need not be, as is often believed, simply a drag on resources but rather can be part and parcel of improving health and achieving better economic growth. Aiming to assist policy-makers as they assess the case for investing in health systems, Health Systems,Health, Wealth and Societal Well-being reviews the evidence on: The contribution of health systems to better health and to economic growth The ways that investment in better health can save future health costs as well as boosting economic growth How we can create equitable, sustainable health systems fit for the 21st century