technology

[EPHA Briefing] Access to Medicines in Europe in Times of Austerity

When discussing the topic of access to medicines in the context of the economic crisis we have to consider three determinants: affordability and availability, in terms of access to medicines, and innovation in terms of developing new methods of assuring best possible health outcomes. AFFORDABILILTY Usually, health expenditures are mostly covered by public funding and supplemented by private spending. The economic crisis has forced public expending to be cut making patient co-payment (...)

[eHealth week] eHealth innovation must be driven by full inclusion

13 May, Brussels -The motto of the 2013 eHealth week (13-15 May), which kicks off today, is ‘Delivering Innovative Healthcare and Well-being’. According to the European Commission, eHealth Week aims to encourage continuous investment in health IT in an effort to improve patient care and get a handle on rising medical costs. An integral part of this year’s eHealth Week is the High Level eHealth Conference, organised by the Irish Presidency and the European Commission. (...)

[EPHA’s 20th anniversary series] There is no time like the present

While generally speaking, political change in Brussels tends to be tremendously slow, twenty years are a sufficiently long period of time to have witnessed some crucial changes in the continent’s public health sphere. At the time of EPHA’s inception in 1993, Article 129 of the Maastricht Treaty had just equipped the European Commission with a limited but important legal coordinating role in the field of public health with a focus on prevention, health promotion and protection. (...)

[EPT] Medical devices - Regulation (recast) - Medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices (17 April 2013)

Medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices. The term “medical device” covers an extremely diverse range of healthcare instruments – from simple bandages and dressings to tongue depressors, medical thermometers and blood sugar meters to pacemakers and life-supporting products, as well as eHealth devices which communicate remotely. The medical devices industry constitutes a key sector for healthcare. It is one of the most dynamic sectors, improving and saving (...)

[Update] EPHA briefing on cyber security and health technologies

Below is an updated version of the EPHA briefing on cyber security and health technologies, first published in September 2012, taking account of developments and further EPHA work since then. As noted in the EPHA briefing on data protection reform, the immediate problem presented by these technologies is the threat to privacy and the protection of personal information. However, the security risk presented – be it through malfunction or deliberate attack – is less widely (...)

Medical Devices at EU Socialists & Democrats Workshop: an evolving debate

On 19 March 2013 a workshop on medical devices took place in the European Parliament to continue discussions over the legislative proposal presented by the European Commission in September 2012. The workshop was organised by the S&D Group (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament) and was chaired by the Rapporteur for the Medical Devices report, Dagmar Roth-Behrendt MEP (Germany, S&D). The discussion over the two proposals on Medical (...)

European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee adopts opinion on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) adopted on 19 March its opinion on the General Data Protection Regulation. This will now be forwarded to the responsible Civil Liberties (LIBE) Committee for consideration alongside the submitted amendments. The opinion broadly supports the Commission text, supporting the use of a regulation rather than a directive, a broad definition of personal data, and the requirement for explicit consent in order for processing to be (...)

European Parliament Civil Liberties Committee discusses amendments to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The European Parliament’s committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) held a discussion on Wednesday 20 March 2013 on the amendments submitted to the General Data Protection Regulation. The discussion was held in the presence of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Peter Hustinx, and the chairman of the Article 29 Working Party, Jakob Kohnstamm. Jan Albrecht MEP (Greens/EFA, Germany), rapporteur of the file, opened discussions by informing the Committee (...)

Council of the EU discusses General Data Protection Regulation

The Justice and Home Affairs Council met on Friday 8 March to debate the latest Council discussion paper, which asked member states for their positions and concerns regarding two main elements of the GDPR - the use of a risk-based approach and the need to provide flexibility for the public sector. The meeting was chaired by Mr Alan Shatter, Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence and opened with a presentation by Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, (...)

EU’s new cyber security legislation struggles in European Parliament

At the beginning of 2013 the European Commission launched two major initiatives on cyber security - the EU Cyber Security Strategy and a proposal for a Directive on network and information security. Concerns have been raised about both initiatives and recent reports suggest that the Directive may not make it through the European Parliament’s current legislature, as previously hoped. A report by EurActiv (a website devoted to EU affairs) quoting a number of administrators from within (...)