The health sector is a significant economic factor in Central Europe. There is hardly another European region that has such important medical traditions, so many medical competence centres and such a high cross-border mobility of health professionals and patients.

The “healthregio” project is implemented under INTERREG III A, the external border programmes of the European Union. A sound data basis, concepts and strategies are being prepared that will allow for optimising the healthcare service sector in the border regions of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. “Healthregio” is of high political relevance: it is for the first time that the health sector of this region is studied at a European level and hence, it constitutes a model project for the next enlargement of the EU.

“Healthregio” assembles a multidisciplinary team of leading experts, policy makers and economic decision makers from all over Central Europe. Within two years, the representatives of diverse organisations from the public and private sectors, scientists and experts will draw up strategies and concepts to promote the sustainable development of the health sector in the border region.

The project’s objective
“Healthregio” aims at optimising the structure of healthcare provision and, thus, at developing a quality location for healthcare services in Central Europe in the long term.

Background
The enlargement of the European Union has a massive impact on existing healthcare systems.
Especially in border regions, legislative changes result in higher mobility and, therefore, new challenges.

Political relevance
“Healthregio” provides policy makers and economic decision makers with a sound basis for successfully tackling this phase of radical change. Joint activities safeguard the favourable development of the health sector in the long term.

Project activities
“Healthregio” serves to make visible the differences, resources and potentials of the healthcare systems with a view to re-organising the health sector jointly, e.g. by cross-border utilisation of infrastructures, improved access to healthcare services and cross-border knowledge transfer.

Priorities:

- Legislative changes and need for progress in national systems
- Comparable statistical data on the region
- Mobility of patients & health professionals
- Education and skills development for health professionals

The project is structured in three phases:

Phase 1: The starting point of the project is a comprehensive sectoral analysis to identify the demographic, socio-economic and health-related characteristics of the border region as well as case studies for specific work packages.

Phase 2: On the basis of this analysis, the expert team will develop and publish recommendations for actions in the fields of economic and health policy.

Phase 3: The first steps will be taken to implement the results obtained in Phase 1 and 2.

Scientific advisor:
Dr August Österle, Department of Social Policy, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
Co-operation partners:
Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration
Vienna University
IMC Fachhochschule Krems
Semmelweis University Budapest
University of Sopron
Institute of Health Policy and Economics (IZPE) in Kostelec nad Cernými lesy
University of South Bohemia in Ceské Budejovice.