35th Nordic Health Economists' Study Group meeting

ADDRESS
by Kristján Þór Júlíusson, Minister of Health

Anna Lilja Gunnarsdóttir

Good morning, everyone.

Kristján Þór Júlíusson, Minister of Health, asked me to bring you his best greetings. He was going to be here today but was called to a meeting and he asked me to bring you this address on his behalf.

It is good to see you all gathered here, ready to consult each other and share your expertise on health economics that hopefully will benefit us all in the future.

Health economics is a growing discipline since its tasks are urgent and are becoming ever more important in each society.

The health of nations is an important part of their welfare and wellbeing. We know that there are many complex and intertwined factors that affect public health. Changes in our society that do not seem to affect health can in effect have a significant impact for better or worse. The contribution of health economics is therefore of great importance, especially for us who work in the political arena. Contributions from health economics can be important in decision-making when one seeks to foresee the impact of decisions – as well as in the assessment of the gain from decisions that affect public health directly or indirectly.

The OECD believes that health will be one of the main tasks of governments in Western countries over the next decades. Health expenditures are growing rapidly with no end in sight, although the growth has slowed down after the collapse 2008. Yet, it is quite apparent that such growth has its limits since no society can sustain it over the long run. We are therefore faced with a great challenge: We must provide good health services for those in need and do so in a cost-effective manner.

In order to do so we must constantly seek answers to challenging questions that may concern a variety of issues: The use of new and expensive drugs comes to mind; to what extent their use is justifiable and sensible? – When and to what extent is vaccination appropriate? Will the age composition of nations call for a different emphasis in the provision of health services? – What types of health providers are most efficient in terms of results?

One should not forget factors where the health gains of whole nations can be formidable. I am thinking of ways to resist obesity and reverse its serious rise, ways to reduce abusive drinking and drug use and so on.

We also need to know how we can measure the efficiency of health services. I think that most people agree that the results should revolve around the wellbeing of the users, that is their health, in light of the resources we devote to such services.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Let me conclude my remarks by bidding you all welcome and wishing you well in your endeavours. Health economists face formidable and challenging questions – and your answers are extremely important.

Good luck to you all.