Patient-centric strategy crucial for EU Healthcare
16 November 2005
Health First Europe (HFE) outlined a series of recommendations to
contribute to a debate on the challenges and the future of healthcare in the
EU at the annual Open Health Forum held by the European Commission’s DG
Health and Consumer Protection, on 8 November.
Annette Kennedy, President of the European Federation of Nurses
Association (EFN), emphasised that: “There is an urgent need to explore the
current context of professional preparedness in Europe to deliver a
consistent standard of healthcare to individuals in all countries within the
EU in terms of education, competence, codes of practice and clinical
outcomes. There is also a real need to develop European accreditation
mechanisms, based on national developments and which comply with
well-established global frameworks. And there needs to be evidence of
validation of standards and transparency of the process used, which is
easily recognised across borders.” The EFN, an associate member of HFE, is
co-organising a workshop focusing on Health Services.
Mel Read, Honorary Chair of HFE welcomed the Forum’s programme and
explained: “A patient-centric strategy is the necessary basis for making
healthcare decisions. To this end, and through the launch of our policy
statement, we would advocate improved access to healthcare as an important
EU investment through appropriate budget allocation, equitable and
cross-border access for patients in the EU, and better utilisation of
collective EU expertise and resources.”
HFE’s policy statement is the result of a stock-taking of the various
initiatives and strategies put forward by European policy makers of late as
a means of improving healthcare for EU citizens. It identifies and
elaborates on common themes within the critical action areas such as the
future of EU Health Strategy; improving access to services in the EU;
patient mobility and related topics (e-health, patient information and
safety, etc.), and better regulation linked to the Lisbon Agenda.
These themes are namely:
1. Access to better healthcare in the EU
2. Innovation of healthcare therapies and access processes
3. Continual quality improvement of EU healthcare
4. Investment in healthcare's human resources
Under the patronage of David Byrne, former European Commissioner for
Health and Consumer Protection, Health First Europe is a voluntary platform
of diverse healthcare stakeholders including patients, healthcare workers,
academics, experts and industry. HFE aims to ensure that equitable access to
modern, innovative and reliable medical technology and healthcare is
regarded as a vital investment in the future of Europe.
Links
The EU Health Forum
Health First Europe
http://www.healthfirsteurope.org/
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