On the first day of the EPSCO meeting, 9 of June, the Health Ministers of the EU member states confirmed the proposal to change the mandate of the high-level group on health care. Drafted by the Slovenian Presidency in cooperation with the EU Member States, this group will assist the Council in the implementation of its strategic role in addressing and defining key health issues.
The intensified cooperation between the Council and the Commission will mean that the Commission is expected to actively give support from all sectors that may have an impact on health. The Commission also agreed to examine existing structures in the area of health: to rationalize them, avoid duplication of efforts and to ensure efficiency.
The Ministers also agreed that information to which patients have access must be high in quality, objective, reliable, complete, understandable and non-promotional. The ban on advertising prescription medicines is maintained.
Other issues that were mentioned were: the need to develop models for monitoring and supervising the medicine-related advertising and information and the need to harmonize accessibility of information on medicines to patients in the EU Member States.
On the second day the council adopted conclusions on the reduction of the burden of cancer. These conclusions called for the development of comprehensive strategies for cancer control, including:
Disease prevention
Early detection
High-quality treatment
Psychosocial support
Rehabilitation
Palliative care
A great deal of emphasis was placed onHealth promotion and disease prevention. Another key area of focus was the development and implementation of actions to reduce exposure to key risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful consumption of alcohol.
The second important topic was antimicrobial resistance. Because of the excessive and erroneous use of antibiotics we are now faced with some treatments that have lost their efficacy, constituting a serious public health threat. The Council called upon Member States to work towards implementing the 2002 Council recommendations on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine. The council urged them to keep working with strategies to manage antimicrobial resistance. The Member States should also promote prudent antibiotic use, through awareness programmes, to all relevant population groups. Furthermore the Council called upon the European Commission to support more research in this area.
For further information:
Press release from the EPSCO meeting 9-10th of June
EPHA related articles:
*Updated* Slovenian Presidency: Priorities for health (January 2008 - June 2008)
Information to patients under the attention for the EPSCO meeting, 10 June 2008
