Technology and health: impact on solidarity

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Theo de Vries
Ronald Hendricus Maria Hendriks

Abstract

Looking at the medical technological development there are two important trends to distinguish. First the development of the information and communication technology and secondly the development of new medicines for always smaller and sharper defined groups. Some of the new technologies are cost-raising, others are moneysaving but as a result we see that two thirds of the autonomous cost development in Health Care is caused by the development of medical technology. The question is if we can afford this development. One hand it brings better quality of care and new and better treatments on the other hand it raises the cost of health care systems with the result that present levels of solidarity in those systems are maybe not sustainable in the future.

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