Austerity cuts have put Europe’s health systems under severe pressure, increasing health inequalities and threatening sustainability in the future. Now, European governments and the European Union (EU) need to take immediate action to prevent further damage. ... Dec 2013

Vilnius (Lithuania) 21 November 2013 – Austerity cuts have put Europe’s healthcare systems under severe pressure, increasing health inequalities and threatening sustainability in the future... Nov 2013

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Health is a value in itself. It is also a condition for economic prosperity and social cohesion, says Tonio Borg, European Commissioner for Health, in this welcome to the conference... Nov 2013

Session V. Closing Plenary: Sustainable health systems for the future. Surveying the fallout from austerity-era cuts and contemplating the rising tide of demand from an ageing population, it may be hard to feel optimistic about the prospects for Europe’s health systems. But there is much to build on to ensure health systems are sustainable for the future, as will be brought to the fore and discussed in the closing plenary... Nov 2013

While there are one or two hopeful signs of an upturn in Europe’s economies, the impact of the financial crisis continues to reverberate. The real-terms cuts in healthcare budgets since 2009 are not about to be reversed, and health systems now need to be reshaped to ensure the health gains that Europe made up to 2008 are not lost, says Professor Helmut Brand... Nov 2013

Improve governance to build resilient health care for the future. Building on the latest evidence of the impact of the economic crisis on health, the World Health Organisation has formulated ten policy action points to strengthen health systems by making them people-centred, equitable and sustainable for the future. The key to implementation lies in good governance, says Hans Kluge... Nov 2013

The challenge of creating sustainable healthcare systems is very important not only for Lithuania, but for the whole of the European Union. The theme also has a wider resonance for the whole world, believes Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Minister of Health of the Republic of Lithuania... Nov 2013

Improving health systems productivity: scope for reform. Efficiency improvements are needed to get more and better health care from dwindling budgets - to justify the claim on taxpayer funding and make health systems sustainable... Nov 2013

Measure productivity to maximise use of resources and make health care sustainable. It is a daunting and difficult task, but measuring the productivity of health care systems is critical to dispelling perceptions that money is badly spent and to improving efficiency, says Peter C. Smith... Nov 2013

Joint effort is needed to boost productivity in health care. We’re in this together: from pharmaceutical companies to clinicians, public health specialists to patients – all have a part to play in making our health systems more efficient. That’s why getting everyone together under the banner of the Lithuanian EU Presidency is so important, says Richard Bergström... Nov 2013

In 2013, the WHO Regional Office for Europe convened 2 High Level Meetings on Health System Strengthening... Nov 2013

Taking Stock: health and health care inequalities in Europe. Across Europe as a whole, life expectancy is increasing. However, health inequality remains: in Newcastle, UK, 55-year olds whose homes are eight miles apart can have eleven years difference in healthy life expectancy. Such huge inequalities are repeated in other European cities... Oct 2013

Consult patients on the design of health care systems. Patients who have the experience of living with chronic disease become experts in dealing with their conditions and surrounding issues. Tapping into this expertise will improve service design, reduce waste and contribute to the sustainability of health care systems, says Nicola Bedlington, Executive Director of the European Patients’ Forum... Oct 2013

Sustainable health care calls for innovation in disease prevention. There’s ample evidence that investing in disease prevention is a far better way of spending money than treating the consequences. Prevention needs a higher profile. It also needs innovation, says Monika Kosinska... Oct 2013

Session II: Sustainable Economic Growth through Better Health. It’s time to dispel the austerity-era view of health care as a drain on Europe’s resources... Oct 2013

Health equals wealth, and never more so than when times are bad. The link between health and wealth is well-established, but there is a sense that governments and policy makers have lost sight of this connection in the financial crisis, says Bengt Jönsson... Oct 2013

Make health part of economic policy. Health care is commonly considered an overhead and a drain on a nation’s finances. On the contrary, “health is a major production factor” contributing to growth, innovation and exports, says Klaus-Dirk Henke... Oct 2013

The 16th edition of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) held under the main title of “Resilient and Innovative Health Systems for Europe” in the Gastein valley from 2nd to 4th October 2013 explored the relationship between austerity policies and necessary innovations in health care systems in order to keep them resilient... Oct 2013

Look beyond healthcare to build sustainable healthcare systems. There are many influences beyond the orbit of health systems that contribute to health status. Factoring these economic and social determinants into policy promises both to improve health and make healthcare systems more sustainable... Oct 2013

The pressures that an ageing population, the increasing incidence of chronic disease and the cost of adopting new technology is putting on Europe’s health systems have been evident for some time... Oct 2013

Applying the lessons of austerity to build sustainable healthcare systems. The expression ‘don’t waste a crisis’ has been overused and abused. However, there have been some positive outcomes for healthcare and these should not be overlooked, says Josep Figueras... Oct 2013