Five years ago, without official notifications a group of national and international professionals, including Value-Based Health Care Europe Chairman Prof. Dr. Fred van Eenennaam, went to Boston, to participate in the Harvard program on healthcare as organized by the group around Harvard University Professor Michael E. This group was so inspired by the concepts of Value-Based Health Care as developed at Harvard, that they decided to continue the discussion on this subject in the Netherlands. They came together and discussed special themes within healthcare. This informal network of academic and health care professionals was labeled as Value-Based Health Care Europe. Also The Decision Institute, Prof. Dr. Fred van Eenennaam, was amongst many others, active in this group that shared a lot of knowledge about Value-Based Health Care over time. Many interested people have found this network, either via the large number of case teachings and masterclasses that have been organized by The Decision Institute from 2009 onwards, or via other means. Four years ago, the Value-Based Health Care Center Europe inserted a structure of Chapters (on disease areas) and Themes. Sessions were organized on themes like Diagnostics, Outcomes measures and Cost, and were visited by professionals that just wanted to exchange knowledge or that were interested in education about these themes. Nowadays the Value-Based Health Care Europe has grown to a not-for-profit organization with official members that builds on the foundations of 5 years ago. Since 2012, the organization has come to a point that it needs to be more organized. It has grown to a European Network that brings together national and international experiences, and that is right on top of the implementation of Value-Based Health Care. In that light, Value-Based Health Care Europe organized the Value-Based Health Care Prize 2014 and 2015, with honorary chair Harvard University Professor Michael Porter, PhD, and well deserved credits to his team and the excellent education programs at Harvard.
