Intensive care medicine in Europe.

Health care systems stem from specific political, historical, cultural,and socioeconomic traditions. As a result, the organizational arrangements for health care differ considerably between Member States of the European Union. Health care in the European Union is at a crossroads between challenges and opportunities. The Member States are facing common challenges in delivering equal, efficient, and high-quality health services at affordable cost in times when the amount of care to be delivered is starting to exceed the resource base.