Care quality in focus for Bure investment

Care quality in focus for Bure investment Bure Health Care is investing in a joint venture with The Picker Institute to market surveys of patients´ perception of the quality of health care in Europe. - This joint venture is important for us for two reasons. First it gives us a unique method to measure patient perceived quality in order to give tools that both purchasers and providers can use to improve the delivery of care. Second it opens up possibilities for Bure on an European basis", said Mr Per Baatelson, CEO Bure Health Care. - Initially we will conduct business in Sweden, UK and Switzerland. During 1997 Bure has worked with the Picker Institute surveying patients in seven acute hospitals in Sweden. This project was carried out in collaboration with Spri, The Swedish Institute for Health Care Development. With the help of these surveys doctors, nurses, hospital leaders and health care purchasers will have an opportunity to better understand patients' perspectives. Bure Health Care will work with commissioners, providers and patient organizations across Europe's public health care systems to stimulate practical initiatives for improving patient care. "When we talk about quality of care, we need to remember that patients are, in many ways, the only ones who can tell us if they are getting what they need," said Susan Edgman-Levitan, President of The Picker Institute in Boston. "Health care isn't only about financing, or re-engineering. It is about taking care of people who are sick, or meeting the needs of people who are trying to live their lives with chronic illness. The Picker Instutue provides health care organizations with state-of the-art patient surveys, education and training programs aimed at improving patient care by incorporating the patients perspective ín the delivery and management of care. The institute is working for health care organizations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for the past ten years. Bure Hälsa och Sjukvård ingår i Investment AB Bure. Bure Hälsa och Sjukvård driver verksamhet inom specialistsjukvård, äldreomsorg, företagshälsovård, medicinsk service och laboratorietjänster. Företaget har en omsättningstakt på ca 1,9 miljarder och ca 2 800 anställda. For further information please call: Per Baatelson, CEO Bure Health Care and Chairman, Picker Europe, +46 31 35 76 35 Susan Edgman-Levitan, CEO, The Picker Institute, +1 617 667 2388 Flemming Rosleff, CEO, Bure Managed Care, +46 708 446 231