Publications

This is a German translation of the stockholm-network.org publication Theory versus Practice.

The stockholm-network.org series on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) aims to highlight the gap between the theory and practice of HTA, as well comparing the extent to which the HTA process is applied by separate national agencies.

In this paper, the stockholm-network.org explores the issue of governance of HTA systems. It finds that, while there seems to be a convergence among different countries towards the HTA appraisal and review process, there are still considerable differences in the manner in which national HTA system operate as a whole. Such differences, it is argued, ultimately lead to different outcomes and outputs of national HTA systems, not least in the context of patients` ability to access new and innovative healthcare technologies.

This paper examines in detail the state of the European pharmaceutical market as a whole and asks what impact European regulatory structures are having on patients' ability to access medicines promptly. Is there a gap between the theory and practice regarding when patients in different EU member states can get hold of the medicines they need and, if so, what can be done to speed up the process?

In this summer issue of Eye on Europe, we dedicate the leading article and a special section to two important and highly topical issues: the financial crisis and the question of whether the free market still has a role. In the special section we review five commercial books published in the UK and feature five publications of member think tanks all of which are concerned with these issues.

The newsletter also analyses the state of the Lithuanian healthcare system and dedicates a section to the presence of the stockholm-network.org in the blogosphere. We are also pleased to announce that we have recently added several new member think tanks to our network, including Competitive Malta, The OHRID Institute for Economic Strategies and International Affairs in Macedonia and The Romanian Center for European Policies, all of whom are profiled in this issue.

This edition of Know IP contains the following articles:

• Commentary - Protecting IPRs as a strategic choice for Europe - Dr Meir Pugatch and Helen Disney
  
• Topic of the Month - Barbie goes to war - the billion dollar IP dispute between Barbie and Bratz - Rachel Chu
  
• Experts' Corner - Patents and energy - generating results or generating controversy? - Dr Konstantinos Karachalios
  
• Views - Beyond Pirate Bay - Rachel Chu
  
• New Research by the stockholm-network.org - The Intellectual Property Index for the Information Technology Sector, Updated for 2008-2009
  
• New Publication - The Process of Intellectual Property Policy-Making in the 21st Century - Shifting from a General Welfare Model to a Multi-Dimensional One - by Dr Meir Pugatch
  
• Newsflashes - Top stories in the world of IP and Competition
  

The stockholm-network.org series on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) aims to highlight the gap between the theory and practice of HTA, as well comparing the extent to which the HTA process is applied by separate national agencies.

In this paper, the stockholm-network.org explores the issue of governance of HTA systems. It finds that, while there seems to be a convergence among different countries towards the HTA appraisal and review process, there are still considerable differences in the manner in which national HTA system operate as a whole. Such differences, it is argued, ultimately lead to different outcomes and outputs of national HTA systems, not least in the context of patients` ability to access new and innovative healthcare technologies.

The stockholm-network.org bi-monthly newsletter Gesundheit! highlights developments in contemporary European health and welfare policy and Volume 1, Issue 5, focuses on the issue of Health Technology Assessment (HTA).

The contents of this issue and the contributors are as follows:

• Commentary: Valuing a unique commodity - Helen Disney, Chief Executive and Founder of the stockholm-network.org, and Dr Meir Pugatch, Director of Research of the stockholm-network.org;
  

• Topic of the Month: Theory versus Practice: Discussing the Governance of Health Technology Assessment Systems - Paul Healy, Policy Analyst of the stockholm-network.org;
  

• Think Tanker`s Corner: Patient-Centric Comparative Effectiveness - Peter Pitts, President and co-founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI);
  

• Experts' Corner: Peering Down the Kaleidoscope: Evidence and Health Economics are Now the Future - Stuart Carroll, senior health economist and policy advisor, and Paul O`Donohoe, research assistant and analyst;
  

• stockholm-network.org Publications and Events
  

The stockholm-network.org and FAES Foundation are pleased to announce the publication of the Spanish version of The State of the Union or El Estado de la Union.

From the first issue of The State of Union (published in 2005) to this follow-up edition (published in English in April 2008), we have witnessed quite a number of political and economic changes in the EU. With this joint initiative, FAES and the stockholm-network.org provide the Spanish speaking world with an analysis of the market-oriented economic reforms that have taken place in the European Union member countries up to early 2008.

Yet, in the past few months, the global financial crisis has threatened the achievements of many EU countries, which have successfully managed to embrace these reforms during the past few years.

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One of the most fundamental problems in public discussion of European intellectual property (IP) policies is the shortage of information about the specific composition of an IP environment, relevant to Europe's high tech industries (in general), and the information technology (IT) sector in particular. In order to narrow this gap, in 2006 the stockholm-network.org developed an innovative statistical index aimed at measuring the strength of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the IT sector in different countries. The stockholm-network.org has now updated the index for 2008-2009.

This twelfth edition of Climate of Opinion is dedicated to the Arctic and takes a closer look at the multitude of security and environmental challenges facing the region. It contains the following articles:

• Commentary - The Arctic: conflict or cooperation - Gulya Isyanova
  
• The Melting Cog - Rachel Chu
  
• Clashing Styles in the Arctic - International Law or fait accompli - Matt Stone
  
• Geopolitics in the Arctic: The Russian Security Perspective - Dr Katarzyna Zysk
  
• Climate Change and Arctic Economies - Richard Campanaro
  
• Microclimates - Top stories in energy and environment

This winter issue of Eye on Europe looks at a range of topics that pertain to getting Europe`s economy back on track. The leading articles, along with updates on stockholm-network.org`s new Lisbon Barometer, touch on two important and highly topical issues - financial regulation and innovation.

The newsletter also reviews historian Niall Ferguson`s new book The Ascent of Money, which provides a timely reminder of the history of money and some of the pitfalls of handling it.

We are also pleased to announce that we have recently added several new member think tanks to our network, including the Murray Rothbard Institute in Belgium and the Institute for Innovation & Valuation in Health Care in Germany, both of whom are profiled in this issue.