National Health Systems and Healthcare Contracts in the EU: a Review on the Literature over the Last 17 Years

This article presents an analysis and evaluation of the literature of the last 17 years on the studies on the National Health Systems (NHS) in the EU. On this occasion, we set as an objective to frame a systematic classification of the selected studies, which were briefly commented upon, given their large volume. It is confirmed that the NHS focuses on contracting medical services, a multi-annual phenomenon, based on national legislation, often harmonised with European legislation. From this perspective, we present a case study, namely Romania. Good contracting can be achieved by supporting guides that, although exist at an European level, are absent in many East European countries. In the last part of the article, a presentation is made – perhaps for the first time in the East-European geographical space – of these guides, wich form an integral part of the specific literature.