Health needs and costs of the ageing population
The demographic ageing of the population is one of the major challenges for today's socio-economic and political systems. With regard to health, increasing numbers among the elderly population will require new forms of prevention and care and will probably lead to an increase in health-related demands. This will give rise to the need to adopt new approaches enabling the quality of available medical and welfare care to be improved while keeping costs low. In this context, the European Commission, DG V, has published an invitation to tender for a scientific analysis of all aspects of expenditure in order to evaluate probable developments and the adjustments required. The research should identify a methodology to identify the effects of demographic ageing on health systems in social and economic terms, paying particular attention to hospitalisation. This methodology should be capable of allocating expenditure and surveying needs and predicting costs. For further information, please contact by fax: European Commission DG V - Employment, industrial relations and social affairs 200 rue de la Loi (J27 0/240) B-1049 Brussels Fax +32-2-2993890