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As noted in the Foreword, this report is one of several volumes resulting from this study of future health care technology. The purpose of the study, as formulated by the STG, was to analyze future health care technology. Part of the task was to develop an 'early warning system' for health care technology. The primary goal of the project was to develop a list or description of a number of possible and probable future health care technologies, as well as information on their importance. Within the limits of time and money, this has been done. However, given the vast number of possible future health care technologies, complete information on the importance of each area could not be developed in any depth for all technology. Therefore, four specific technologies were chosen and were prospectively assessed. These future technologies were examined in more depth, looking particularly at their future health and policy implications. Subsequently, the project was extended to September 1987, and two additional technologies were chosen for assessment.
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Anticipating and Assessing Health Care Technology Volume 8 Scenario Commission on Future Health Care Technology chairman H. David Banta senior researcher Dr. ir. W.T. van Beekum Anticipating and Assessing Health Care Technology Volume 8 Potentials for Home Care Technology A report, commissioned by the Steering Committee on Future Health Scenarios 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers Dordrecht - Boston - London Distributors for the United States and Canada: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 101 Philip Drive, Norwell, MA 02061 , U.S.A. For all other countries: Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, P.O. Box 322,3300 AH Dordrecht, The Netherlands Steering Committee on Future Health Scenarios P.O. Box 5406 2280 HK Rijswijk The Netherlands Telephone: 070-407209 ISBN-13: 978-94-010-7092-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-1329-5 DOl: 10.1007/978-94-009-1329-5 © Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema bv. Utrecht All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. Kluwer Academic Publishers. P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Forevvord This report, Potentials for Home Care Technology, is the eighth report from the STG Commission on Future Health Care Technology and one of a series of case studies from that project. The STG (Stuurgroep Toekomstscenario's Gezondheidzorg) was established in 1983 as an independent advisory group to the State Secretary for Welfare, Public Health, and Cultural Affairs (WVC) to assist in longrange health planning efforts. Thus far, STG commissions have examined cardiovascular disease, cancer, aging, and life styles as issues of importance to the health of the Dutch population in the future. Obviously, health care technology is of great concern to the government. On the one hand, technology is one of the major tools to promote a healthy population. On the other hand, the costs of health care have been rising at an alarming rate in recent years. These two facts, along with the social consequences of certain technologies such as genetic screening, led the STG to establish the Commission on Future Health Care Technology in 1985. The European Office of the World Health Organization (EURO) cosponsored the project. The Health Council (Gezondheidsraad) agreed to cooperate with the project by furnishing space and intellectual and logistical support. The goal of the Commission's work is to develop sufficient information on future technological developments in health and health care to assist planning for their consequences. The first report, Anticipating and Assessing Health Care Technology, gave the overall context for activi