Warsaw, 7 November 1996 (RFE/RL) -- European health ministers from the 39-nation Council of Europe are gathering today and tomorrow in Warsaw to look at challenges to health care and new ways of meeting them.
Polish Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz and Polish Health Minister Jacek Zochowski are scheduled to address the conference.
Organizers say costly new technologies, budget restraints and an aging population are some of the changes which are calling old health care solutions into question.
Ministers will discuss what organizers are calling a "new social deal" involving measures to boost citizens' and patients' participation in health policy, ensuring equal access to health care, and putting health care higher on the political agenda.