Ten theses on regional health and wealth

This paper was prepared for the WHO European Ministerial Conference on Health Systems: “Health Systems, Health and Wealth” held in Tallinn, Estonia, 25–27 June 2008.

The 10 theses presented here propose that explicitly linking health and wealth at the regional level will powerfully contribute to improving people’s health in Europe:

1. Regions are active promoters for better health
2. Good health is a responsibility of the regions
3. Healthy people are the key to a productive economy
4. Health industry is in a paradigm shift – yesterday a burden, tomorrow an opportunity for the economy
5. Health industry is an incubator of employment, technological progress and innovation
6. Health industry generates income – to the benefit of the local economic cycle
7. Procurement stands between local markets, modern management and (inter-)national champion
8. Quality and innovation in health services need the regional base
9. International mobility of health care providers and consumers carries both risks and benefits
10. Health and wealth must be thought anew.