Conference: "Improving Cardiovascular Prevention in European Primary Care"
Around 100 international scientists, decision-makers and experts from 20 European countries have accepted the invitation extended by the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The results of the "Improving Cardiovascular Prevention in European Primary Care" project were presented at the Congress and options were discussed for prevention and a quality-based focus in outpatient healthcare.
More prevention and strong primary care are the central starting points for many health reforms aimed at achieving greater effectiveness, efficiency and patient-centered care. International findings show that the quality of care varies considerably from country-to-country, region-to-region, practice-to-practice and patient-to-patient. For this reason, many countries are looking for the best organization and structure for primary care, as well as suitable quality concepts.
In the period 18 to 19 June 2009, Bertelsmann Stiftung organized an international conference under the title "Improving Cardiovascular Prevention and Risk Management in European Primary Care". The conference offered up-to-date scientific findings and best practices for prevention and risk management in relation to cardiovascular diseases.
The conference focused on the results of a three-year project conducted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung together with the Dutch "Scientific Institute for Quality in Healthcare" and ten other well-known European partners. As part of the project, extensive assessment instruments have been developed that have been used in 300 medical practices in the participating countries. More than 5,000 patient files and 10,000 patient questionnaires were evaluated.
This information was used as the basis for developing instruments and methods for improving quality and for presenting political recommendations for the development of primary care. The international findings and recommendations drawn up through this three-year European project under the aegis of the Bertelsmann Stiftung are particularly valuable in the context of the ongoing process of European integration, the potential for the national realignment of health policy and an improvement in routine care. The conference promotes the idea that European countries should learn from one another and has enabled intensive exchanges between health policy decision-makers, scientists and representatives of professional organizations and other bodies in healthcare.
In view of the range of illnesses faced, healthcare must move away from episodic, complaint-based care to patient-centered, preventive and long-term coordinated care. The conference makes a significant contribution in this direction.
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