Healthcare services

[2013 Patients’ Rights Day] Putting patients in the driver’s seat

On the occasion of 2013 Patients’ Rights Day (May 15) EPHA would like to stress that, although much progress has been made, there is still a lot of scope for health systems to benefit from an obvious, yet commonly underutilized and underestimated resource: patients themselves. As patients and consumers of health services - and we all fall into this category throughout our lives - we build up an enormous amount of knowledge over the years that takes various forms. Some individuals, (...)

[EPHA position paper] Reforming Health Sy­stems in Times of Austerity

Amidst the backdrop of the economic crisis and countries being recommended to reform health systems to achieve better public administrations and fiscal consolidation, EPHA launches its position on health system reforms. This position includes lessons learned and recommendations for equality.

Clinical trials: Exploring the limits of transparency

Glenis Willmott MEP (S&D, UK) took the initiative to bring together experts to discuss the extent to which more transparency could be workable in non-commercial clinical trials. The debate, which took place in the European Parliament on 10 April, served to present the key arguments for and against increased transparency in the context of administrative and data reporting requirements for academic researchers and patient safety. EPHA’s Position on Clinical Trials urges political (...)

New evidence on access to healthcare: austerity marginalises Europe’s weakest

On 9 April 2013, EPHA member Medecins du Monde European office (MdM) launched a new report that documents the effects of the economic crisis and rising xenophobia on undocumented migrants and other vulnerable groups at risk of exclusion from healthcare systems. Results show that the consequences of austerity measures are particularly strong in Southern Europe where many undocumented migrants are living in an administrative limbo. They are being joined by increasing numbers of European (...)

EPHA Working Group on Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Please find below information on the EPHA Working Group on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), which met for the first time in January 2013. All interested EPHA members are welcome to join the group regardless of whether or not they are actively working on CAM issues. The Working Group on CAM falls under EPHA’s Strategic Aim 2 on Health Systems, which covers issues related to health professionals, health threats and communicable diseases, healthcare services / health (...)

European Medicines Agency Workshop on Medication Errors

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) organised a workshop on Medication Errors on 28 February – 1 March, a timely event given that such incidents are much more frequent across Europe than is commonly known. They are the most common preventable cause of adverse events in medication practice. The workshop was opened by EMA Director Guido Rasi who stated that, although the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions to the EMA-administered EudraVigilance database forms an integral part (...)

[EPHA Open Letter] to EPSCO Council - Boosting investment in health and sustainable development

EPHA has published an open letter to the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO). Based on the recently released Annual Growth Survey (AGS) for 2013, the letter makes recommendations aimed at boosting investment in health and sustainable development. On February 28, EPSCO Council met to discuss the AGS and formulate recommendations towards the EU Spring Council of March. The meeting outcome has great impact, not only on EU guidance, but also on national (...)

Chain of TRUST Closing Conference identifies key areas for improving trust and acceptability of telehealth

The ’’Chain of TRUST’’, a project to assess the perspective of the main end users of telehealth services across the EU, closing conference took place on 24 January 2013. The project examined the obstacles for the successful uptake of telehealth by their principal users, however the discussions went beyond the (still contested) notion of telehealth and provided useful food for thought on the wider challenges that the European eHealth sector is currently facing. (...)

Roundtable on Clinical Trials

Hosted by the European Policy Centre (EPC), this EPC’s Coalition for Health, Ethics and Society (CHES) roundtable on the revision of the Clinical Trials legislation provided an opportunity for EPHA to present its Position on the policy dossier and exchange views with stakeholders including representatives of the European Commission, industry and an NGO representing older people. The roundtable was kicked off by Stefano Soro, Head of unit for Medicinal Products – quality, safety (...)

Fact or fiction? The Co-production of health and the digital user

In December, the 2012 EHTEL symposium explored, amongst other things, user perspectives in the domain of digital health. It was an opportunity to learn about new developments in eHealth and how they can help address health inequalities and improve access, particularly regarding less literate and disadvantaged population groups for whom the digital divide is still a reality. Following an introduction of the conference theme - ’’The Future of eHealth is already here’’ (...)