Managed Care In Europe: Threat Or Opportunity?

Without exception, governments in Europe are struggling to meet their health care responsibilities due to a number of driving forces which will increase, rather than recede, within the next decade, according to a new report from PROMAR International, entitled Managed Care in Europe: Myth or Reality, Threat or Opportunity?

Firstly, the well-known phenomenon of an aging population is putting a great deal of strain on health care systems. Although this is partly caused by falling birth rates, a significant contributor to this phenomenon is past medical advancement, which means that fewer people now die of illnesses which strike quickly, and more are living longer and eventually dying of prolonged illness for which there is still no cure.

The impact of this trend on health care systems is clearly significant, since it results in a far higher demand for longer periods of care and more complex, expensive treatments.