health system

[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.

[EPT] Clinical Trials – new Regulation - Proposal for the Clinical Trials Regulation (CTD) - (updated on 30 April 2013)

Clinical trials Clinical trials are “Investigations in humans intended to discover or verify the effects of one or more investigational medicinal products (IMPs)”. Trials conducted in the European Union (EU) are currently governed by Directive 2001/20/EC (the Clinical Trials Directive, CTD) but these guidelines have been implemented differently across member states, thereby failing to reduce red tape and increasing costs. Consequently, in July 2012, the Commission published its (...)

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 (...)

[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 (...)

Policy responses to the economic crisis – a shift towards investing in health?

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 (...)

[Save the Date] Third Flu Summit of the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESI)

The third annual Flu Summit organised by EPHA member the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza will take place on 2 May 2013 in Brussels. It will be an opportunity to learn about and discuss with experts issues such as pandemic preparedness, new influenza target groups, and vaccination strategies. This year’s edition focuses on new developments and challenges in the influenza field, with special attention for discussions on safety and effectiveness of influenza vaccines. (...)

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 (...)