Geoscience Reference
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in other sectors, such as education, cooperate, this can increase the volume
of traffic in the network and thereby reduce costs. However, these benefits
can only be realized through cooperation among states. This is a question
that was debated in the Arctic Council in October 2003. The implications of
this technology are relevant for states, regions and the broader international
community.
Health threats arising from denial of access to
healthcare services
The development of national healthcare systems is closely linked to the
nation-building process and to the ability of the state to act as a resource
allocator. This is certainly the case in Norway. In Norway, the process has
been driven by the conflict between centralizing and decentralizing forces,
in which local authorities claim more independence while the central gov-
ernment asserts its need for control. The recent exercise in hospital reform
is a result of this on-going conflict. This reform process has centralized the
control of the Norwegian hospital services. Because Norway is by virtually
all standards considered to be a wealthy country, the government has many
resources to allocate, but medical needs can have no limits, which has resulted
in the need for cost-control. The health reforms that have taken place is an
experiment aimed at improving the government's ability to control escalating
costs in the hospital sector, and is not limited to the Norwegian healthcare
system. Politicians across the Arctic are interested in creating a healthcare
service that produces services of good quality whilst remaining cost effective
(Helse- og Omsorgsdepartement 2009).
Patient consultations remain the core activity of national healthcare
systems. This system is a product of both political values and ideas in the
nation-building process and of the medical view on what a healthcare system
is supposed to deliver. The healthcare system has clearly defined borders and,
within the national system, hospitals may have a responsibility for certain
catchment areas. Additionally, doctors who are general practitioners may be
responsible for particular districts within a region. What would motivate a
move to international cooperation in this field? Perhaps a need for greater
capacity for treatment, and pressure for better access to healthcare. Increased
Internet use has led to patients having better access to medical information as
well as to treatment possibilities in different hospitals. This increased patient
awareness may affect the nature of their questions to healthcare personnel and
lead to increased demands for treatment.
Several years ago the Norwegian government opened a 'heartbridge'
between Norway and Britain with the goal of reducing the number of patients
waiting for heart surgery. There are also other examples of patient advocacy
groups in Norway that have managed to lobby the Norwegian parliament
to increase healthcare spending for certain groups. However, this kind of
 
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