Latest - February 2009 - Prague Conference and Launch of Cox Report 2

The Prague Conference on Securing Europe's Healthcare Future took place on 18th February 2009 under the auspices of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council and was an accompanying event to the Czech priority on the financial sustainability of health systems.  The conference marked the launch of the second Cox Report, comprising studies on The future of managing chronic diseases in Europe, and The future of health technology assessment (HTA) in Europe.  To download the Cox Report 2 click here

Background

The investigation into issues affecting the sustainability of healthcare financing was launched at a Conference in 2005 held at the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg Luxembourg Oct 2005. Speakers at that Conference included representatives from the OECD, the WHO, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the London School of Economics.
With the endorsement of Luxembourg’s Ministry of Health and Finland’s Innovation Fund SITRA, four reports were written as one policy document entitled Financing Sustainable Healthcare in Europe – New Approaches for New Outcomes ( the Cox Report 1 ) - and delivered at a conference in Helsinki in February 2007 Helsinki Feb 2007 chaired by Pat Cox.

The reports examined the following issues:

1. Protecting equity while improving efficiency: Some possibilities for expanding the role of competition and choice in health care delivery;
2. Ensuring value for money in health care: The role of HTA in the European Union;
3. Patient empowerment and efficient health outcomes; and
4. Issues affecting the sustainability of health financing in several countries of SE Europe.

Following the Helsinki conference, The Cox Report was presented to the European Commission in Strasbourg on 13th February 2007.

Following consultation with the European Commission (DG SANCO, DG Enterprise and DG Information Society) two further in-depth studies were prepared, on:

• The future of managing chronic diseases in Europe, and
• The future of health technology assessment (HTA) in Europe.

This work was led by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Busse of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and the University of Technology, Berlin (for the CDM report), and by Prof. Dr. Panos Kanavos of the London School of Economics (for the HTA report).

The reports were published as one document aimed at European policy makers (The Cox report 2) and launched at a conference held in Prague under the auspices of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council in February 2009 and chaired by Pat Cox. Prague Feb 2009