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The Effects

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Trends in EU Health Care Systems

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Abstract

The reforms in health care which have been carried out during the past decades were meant to contribute to quality improvement and cost con- tainment, while maintaining the equity principle. And, indeed, medical prac- tice based on guidelines, protocols, or evidence-based medicine can increase the streamlining and predictability of professionals’ performance. Decen- tralization of a health care system can lead to more involvement of local stakeholders in the development of health policy. Prospective budgeting has forced hospital managers to analyze the health care delivery process from the perspectives of efficiency and effectiveness. So has the rise of the inter- nal market. Empowering patients has contributed to the maturation of the relation between health care providers and consumers, whereas health tech- nology assessment has mitigated the “easy market” image of health care. Finally, cost containment measures regarding pharmaceuticals and the introduction of cost-sharing methods may have made consumers more aware that health care has its price.

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Chapter 10

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(2007). The Effects. In: Trends in EU Health Care Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-32748-8_10

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