This book highlights the essentials of health and health systems in eight countries in the region. It then compares these national data with the average data for three groups - their own, the 15 countries that were members of the European Union (EU) before 1 May 2004 and the 27 current EU Member States. Each chapter provides a concise overview of key health indicators in one of the eight countries, summarises the key features of the country's health system and describes the results of over a decade of health system reform