The Changing Role of the Hospital in European Health Systems

Hospitals today face a huge number of challenges, including new patterns of disease, rapidly evolving medical technologies, ageing populations and continuing budget constraints. This book is written by clinicians for clinicians and hospital managers, as well as those who design and operate hospitals. It sets out why hospitals need to change as the patients they treat and the technology to treat them change. In a series of chapters by leading authorities in their field, it challenges existing models, reviews best practice from many countries and presents clear policy recommendations for policy-makers and hospital administrators. It covers the main patient groups and conditions as well as those departments that make modern effective care possible, in imaging and laboratory medicine. Each chapter looks at patient pathways, aspects of workforce, required levels of specialization and technology, and the opportunities and challenges for optimizing the delivery of services in the hospital of the future.

Martin McKee cbe is Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Research Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and Past President of the European Public Health Association. His contributions have been recognized by election to the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, Academia Europeae, and the US National Academy of Medicine, and by six honorary doctorates. He was awarded the 2003 Andrija Stampar medal, the 2014 Alwyn Smith Prize, and the 2015 Donabedian International Award.

sherry merkur is a Research Fellow and Health Policy Analyst at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, based at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is Editor-in-Chief of Eurohealth and author and editor of HiT: Health system reviews. Recent books include Promoting Health, Preventing Disease: The conomic Case (2015) and with Ellen Nolte and Anders Anell, she is co-editor of Achieving Person-Centred Health Systems (Cambridge, 2020).

nigel edwards is Chief Executive at The Nuffield Trust, a research and policy foundation based in London.  Prior to this he was a senior fellow at the King’s Fund and the Policy Director of the NHS Confederation. He is honorary visiting professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and was awarded an honorary DSc by the University of Westminster.

ellen nolte is Professor of Health Services and Systems Research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her expertise is in health systems research, international health care comparisons and performance assessment. She has published widely on health systems, integrated care, European health policy and population health assessments. She is co-editor of the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy. With Anders Anell and Sherry Merkur, she is co-editor of Achieving Person-Centred Health Systems (Cambridge, 2020).