Bure's subsidiary, Picker Europe, awarded nationwide contract in Great Britain

Bure's subsidiary, Picker Europe, awarded nationwide contract in Great Britain - will develop the quality at 250 hospitals The Department of Health in Great Britain has decided to carry out the first nationwide study into patients' perception and experience of health care services at approximately 250 hospitals. The assignment has been awarded to Picker Europe in collaboration with Imperial College and Social and Community Planning Research, SCPR, in London. Picker Europe - a subsidiary of Bure Health Care - will also lead the ensuing work of change in individual hospitals. The contract runs over six years and is valued at a total of SEK 160M, excluding the work of change. "The contract for the Department of Health is a major breakthrough and the starting-point for further assignments in European health care services," says Per Båtelson, President of Bure Health Care. "Our ambition, on a European basis, is to work to develop the quality of care by focusing on patients' perspectives." Approximately 150,000 patients at around 250 hospitals in Great Britain will report on their experiences of National Health Service Hospitals. The study is planned to be carried out annually starting autumn 1998. In Sweden, Picker Europe, in collaboration with the Swedish Institute for Health Care Development, Spri, has so far carried out studies at eight Swedish hospitals. A larger number of hospitals will participate in the research this autumn. Similar studies are being carried out in Switzerland and soon also in Germany. The Picker method focuses on charting what actually happens when the patient meets with the representatives of the health care services. This is an important difference compared with traditional questionnaires which measure how satisfied or dissatisfied the patients are with the health care services which provided imperfect support for decision-making for improvements in the health care services. Picker Europe Ltd, which has its registered office in London, was formed in 1997 by Bure and the Picker Institute in Boston, USA. The operations of the Picker Institute are based on research carried out at the Harvard Medical School. Among its clients are the American Hospital Association and Medicare. Bure Health Care forms part of Investment AB Bure and carries out operations in the sectors: specialist health care, geriatric care, occupational health care, diagnostics and materials supply. The Business Area has an annual turnover rate of more than approximately SEK 2.3 billion and more than 3,000 staff. For further information please contact: Saila Horttanainen, Head of Information, Bure Health Care +46 31-335 76 72 +46 70-622 76 06