Cover; Title; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgements; About the editors; List of tables and boxes; List of abbreviations; Introduction and objectives; Mapping national practices and experiences; Discussion and preliminary conclusions; References; Annex I: Some examples of (European) reference networks; Annex II: Overview table
Summary
Under the European Directive on the application of patients' rights in cross-border health care the development of European reference networks was promoted as one of the prime areas for cross-border cooperation among Member States. These networks are meant to improve access to and provision of high-quality health care to all patients who have conditions requiring a concentration of specialized resources or expertise. At the same time they could act as focal points for medical training and research information dissemination and evaluation especially for rare diseases. The idea of pooling resour
