Rebirth of the university hospital: the Finnish strategy.

Like the academic hospitals worldwide, the Finnish university hospitals are under increasing economical pressures seeking ways to re-assess their traditional missions. It is strongly felt that new solutions within the field of evaluative sciences could bring added value to university hospitals. In this vein, university hospitals must take a leading position in assessing efficacy, (cost-)effectiveness and, ultimately, cost-utility of both traditional and emerging clinical technologies. This will affect the research culture of university hospitals both profoundly and permanently.