Healthcare and Elderly Care in Europe

Thomas Bahle, PhD, Senior Researcher, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), University of Mannheim, Mareike Ariaans, PhD, Senior Researcher, University of Siegen and Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), University of Mannheim, Katharina Koch, Researcher, Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), University of Mannheim and Claus Wendt, Professor of Sociology of Health and Healthcare Systems, University of Siegen and Research Fellow, Mannheim Center for European Social Research, University of Mannheim, Germany

• Contents: 1. Healthcare and elderly care in Europe: an introduction 2. Theory: institutions and actors 3. Data and methods: interviews with stakeholder organizations 4. Germany: social insurance with a divide between healthcare and long-term care 5. The Netherlands: institutional fragmentation in a patient-centered system 6. Sweden: regional and local autonomy 7. Switzerland: merits and downsides of medical dominance 8. Professional-level problems: staff shortage, divided responsibilities, or missing communication? 9. System-level coordination problems: impact of theinstitutional structure 10. Conclusion: coordination requires financing reform, institutionalization, and academization References Index

‘This book focuses on a very important yet understudied topic: how to improve the living conditions of frail older people through better coordination between healthcare and elderly care systems. The volume analyses the coordination problems in Continental European countries and puts forward very interesting proposals for solutions. The book is a necessary read for those studying long-term care systems.’