The partnership[2] includes the Governments of Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom; the Veneto Region of Italy; the French National Union of Health Insurance Funds (UNCAM); the World Health Organization; the European Commission; the World Bank; the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
The observatory was established in 1998 by Josep Figueras, with colleagues Martin McKee, Elias Mossialos, and Richard Saltman, when Dr Jo E. Asvall, the then WHO Regional Director for Europe, approved its foundation.
Its secretariat is based in Brussels and has offices in London (at LSE and LSHTM) and Technische Universität Berlin, bringing together a wide range of academics, policy-makers and practitioners to analyse trends in health policies and reforms.
It allows the user to extract specific information on European health systems and directly compare the results from different countries.
It also provides insights into ongoing health reforms so that HSPM users can identify and understand shifts in policy across the Region.
These are small reports catering to the needs of health policymakers and are used to inform them and to provide relevant and available evidence surrounding specific issues.