| abstract: |
EuroREACH explores how coordination among recent innovations for better health care information systems and performance measurement at a national, European and international level can lead to improved access to data for cross-country, comparative research. This will be undertaken for a broad range of questions into the efficiency, quality and equity of health care services, following a patient-centred, disease-based approach. Better integrated health care in order to improve quality and cost-effectiveness of health services across providers and care settings is a major policy concern in the EU.
EuroREACH comprises coordination activities for three types of initiatives to improve data access for research:
1. European and international initiatives and research projects;
2. National practice of innovative health information and performance management systems;
3. European and international data systems and new ways to link them to national sources and to qualitative structural indicators of health care systems for comparative analysis.
Expert panels and two Sounding Board Conferences will support the project, by providing input and by reviewing progress. They will also be involved in broad dissemination.
Results will include guidance for researchers to data access; policy lessons on good practice of national and international performance measurement and information system design, including questions of data linkages, data protection and mapping to international classifications and data framework. The outcome will be synthesised in a handbook entitled “EuroReach: Handbook to Access Health Care Data” that will serve as a generic guide to data access for researchers, other data users and stakeholders. It will also provide guidance to policy makers, discussing options for governing and reforming information systems. A final Conference will wrap up the project’s findings. |
