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Patient mobility and free movement of health services places greater responsibility on European Commission - Health First Europe (HFE) conclusions on patient mobility

16 November 2004

16-11-2004 - Patient mobility and free movement of health services places greater responsibility on European Commission - Health First Europe (HFE) conclusions on patient mobility

Health First Europe (HFE), a broad alliance of patient groups, healthcare workers, academics, experts and the medical technology industry, today submitted the conclusions of an internal policy debate on patient mobility to the European Commission’s DG Health and Consumer Affairs. HFE calls for better management of patient mobility in Europe and provides input to the work of the high level group on health services and medical care.

The increase in patient mobility across Europe, a process whereby patients seek better, more immediate or otherwise unavailable treatments in other EU Member States, is beginning to mark a major change in the way healthcare is provided in the European Union. The willingness of patients to travel and to find treatment outside their home countries demonstrates an erosion of the exclusive competence of national healthcare systems and shows that health services are not exempt from the rules of the single European market. The European Court of Justice has repeatedly confirmed the right of patients to access healthcare products and services in other EU Member States, without prior authorisation and with their own national healthcaresystems covering the costs of these treatments, effectively opening the door to the free movement of patients across national borders.

Health First Europe (HFE) welcomes this development and expects significant benefits from increased patient mobility and, ultimately, better healthcare services to patients in Europe. “True patient mobility will significantly contribute to raising quality standards and increasing efficiency through greater competition and greater specialisation of hospitals”, said Albert van der Zeijden, Chairman of the International Alliance of Patients' Organizations (IAPO) and member of Health First Europe. However, pan-European patient mobility is not without obstacles: patients are faced with lack of information, administrative burdens, language problems and uncertainty regarding the reimbursement of their costs. There is also a threat that patient mobility might worsen existing disparities in patient care between EU Member States or betweenregions and exclude those who are less mobile, such as the elderly, from this process. To avoid such risks and to unlock the potential benefits of patient mobility, HFE calls on national governments to co-operate with the European Commission in the careful management of this process.

The European Commission’s own reflection process on this subject began in 2003, when it established a high level group on patient mobility in co-operation with Member States and other major stakeholders that led to the formulation of 19 specific policy recommendations. This was followed in April 2004 by the publication of the Commission’s first Communication on patient mobility, proposing a work package that included the establishment of a high level group on health services and medical care. This high level group now continues to drive co-operation between Member States and the European Commission for the provision of better information to patients on how to obtain treatment in other Member States, the setting up of centres of excellence across the EU and the systematic exchange of best practice.

Generally welcoming this cooperative approach, Health First Europe today submitted the conclusions of its own internal policy debate on patient mobility to the Commission’s DG Health and Consumer Affairs. It underlines the need for the high level group on health services and medical care to contribute to the analysis of the reasons behind increased patient mobility across the EU, to provide impact assessments of this development on national healthcare systems and to anticipate potential negative impacts on less mobile patients.

“Pan-European patient mobility holds a great promise: that of providing patients in Europe with access to the best available services and products. It is a difficult process and it requires more and better co-operation between our national healthcare systems. We need to understand better the dynamics behind patient mobility and we need the European Commission to facilitate and co-ordinate a response at the European level that will benefit all stakeholders”, said Imelda Read, Honorary Chairman of Health First Europe.

A copy of the Health First Europe position paper on patient mobility is available from the Brussels Secretariat or for download from the Health First Europe website: http://www.healthfirsteurope.org

Established in 2004, Health First Europe is a not-for-profit, non-commercial alliance of patients, healthcare workers, academics, healthcare experts and the medical technology industry. Its primary aim is to ensure that healthcare is regarded as a vital investment in the future of Europe and that every European citizen should benefit from the best medical treatments available. As part of a series of awareness-raising activities, Health First Europe organises events and issues publications with the aim of communicating the following core messages to EU decision-makers and opinion leaders: <:p>

• There are weaknesses in European healthcare systems; a re-think is required in order to meet current and future health challenges
• Patients and clinicians should have equitable access to modern, innovative and reliable medical technology
• The development of new and flexible modes of healthcare delivery will benefit both patients and healthcare providers
• “Health equals wealth”. Health is a productive economic factor in terms of employment, innovation and economic growth

For more information, please visit: www.healthfirsteurope.org