Key steps for a sustainable European HES system Kari Kuulasmaa Luxembourg 9-11 April 2008

Vision Data from standardized HES will be available from all European countries for the planning and evaluation of health policies and health care

Feasibility of national HESs Feasible in nearly all countries Scope may vary Most countries have the local expertise Motivation for a HES is high

Key prerequisites Sufficient funding Internationally organized standardization and advice in planning the HES

Importance of

National responsibilities in the “European HES” Planning and conducting the HES at national level Increases local motivation Best knowledge of national infrastructure and habits, attitudes and needs of health information Training of national experts Also for proper analysis and interpretation

International “centre” needed for Creating, maintaining and disseminating the European standards Organizing training Coordinating quality control Evaluating the success of the standardization in each survey Providing advice to the countries in planning a national HES Coordinating a network of the organizers of national surveys

…and for Managing the sharing of the data for quality control and joint analysis Undertaking rapid basic reporting and interpretation of the results for international reporting in collaboration with the countries Managing the sharing of the data with research groups for more in-depth analyses

Proposal for creating the “centre” As a consortium between a number of national public heath and other institutes They already have the necessary expertise and can start immediately This allows time for the establishment of more permanent structures

Conclusion There is a unique opportunity to standardize a large number of European HES & lay foundations for a European HES If this opportunity is missed the standardization of the national HESs is likely to be more difficult