News & events
May 3rd 2016 - Patients’ rights have no borders…as well as risks!
Patients would access cross-border healthcare services when adequate healthcare treatments are not available in their home country, when the relative services are managed better elsewhere or when the nearest available healthcare treatment is in another Member State, as happen in the case of many border areas.
Currently, cross-border healthcare accounts for approximately 1% of the overall EU public health spending – around €10 billion per year.
According to the Special Eurobarometer 425 on “Patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare in the European Union” published in May 2015, only 5% of people living in the EU have received medical treatments in another European country in the last year. The report shows that in the majority of cases patients had not planned to benefit from cross-border medical treatment. Indeed, among these, only 2% of them received treatment in a foreign country because they had actually planned to do so, while 3% of patients needed to be treated unexpectedly when already abroad.
EVENT CANCELLATION: 6th April 2016 - PAIN THERAPY AND THE DEGREE OF PATIENT’S PAIN IN THE AGE OF CROSS-BORDER HEALTHCARE
On behalf of the secretariat of the MEPs Interest Group "European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare", we regret to inform you that we have to cancel the event scheduled for April 6th.
Actually, the President of the European Parliament decided to allow all the MEPs to host the meetings and events that have been already authorized and scheduled.
Indeed, is allowed the resumption of activities such as meetings and events organised by individual Members provided that they are compatible with the new security requirements and restrictions.
However, considering the current context, MEP Patrizia Toia prefers to postpone all the meetings which she had already planned in order to avoid any risk.
We apologize for this inconvenience but we are sure that you will understand that your safety is very important for us.
As soon as we reschedule the meeting we will give you all the information on it.
In the meantime, we kindly ask you to save the date of May 3rd, from 16:30 to 18:30, on your agendas. More details will come shortly.
Sorry again for the inconvenience and thanks for your understanding.
6th April 2016 - PAIN THERAPY AND THE DEGREE OF PATIENT’S PAIN IN THE AGE OF CROSS-BORDER HEALTHCARE
Article 8.5 of the Directive 2011/24/EU states that the degree of patient’s pain must be taken into account in the process of the cross-border healthcare treatment authorization.
Member States should have transposed the Directive into their national legislation by October 2013 and, consequently, should have put in place mechanisms to assess the patient's level of pain.
In practice, do the National implementation measures include a reference to the intensity of pain? Do the medical records have now specific sections dedicated to the patient's pain assessment? How common is pain measurement in the EU Member States? According to the intensity of pain, do patients receive any medical advice from their doctors about which foreign leading facility is more appropriate for them? Are the National Contact Point able to refer patients to specialized centers in their own country or abroad?
MEDICAL TRAVEL: A NEW EUROPEAN CHALLENGE
Medical travel is a term used to indicate traveling for medical care. In its primary meaning, it is intended as the patients' search for specialized treatments, surgeries or rehabilitation programs in high-level hospitals with qualified personnel and innovative technologies. The term is also used when healthy patients decide to travel to wellness/SPA resorts with the motivation to improve their health, as well as when they choose to reach the so-called "medicalized wellness centers" for services that may range from check-up to rehabilitation or home care.
Officially launched the MEPs Interest Group on “European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare”
Strengthen the protection of patients’ rights in the European framework, thanks to the cooperation between civic society, patient organizations and the Members of the EU Parliament. This is one of the aims of the Interest Group “European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare” that has been officially launched on December 2nd in Brussels at the European Parliament. Hosted by MEP David Borrelli, the co-founder of the Interest Group, the meeting was attended, among others, by MEPs Therese Comodini Cachia (Malta), Piernicola Pedicini (Italy), Elena Gentile (Italy), Marju Lauristin (Estonia).
Officially launched the MEPs Interest Group on “European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare”
“Patients' rights are non-negotiable and universal values that must be guaranteed to all the European citizens”
Launched today the MEPs Interest Group on “European Patients' Rights and Cross-border Healthcare”
Civic society and patient organizations together with the Members of the EU Parliament to strengthen the protection of patients’rights in the European framework. This is the aim of the newInterest Group on “European Patients' Rights and Cross-border Healthcare”, presented today in the European Parliament by MEP David Borrelli, Co-Chair EFDD Group & Co- Founder of the Interest Group and Antonio Gaudioso, Secretary General of the Italian NGO Active Citizenship Network-Cittadinanzattiva.
Watch the launch event of the MEPs Interest Group “European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare” live streaming
Join our live streaming coverage at the following link: https://youtu.be/
Your presence is important to us, as it is reaching out and sharing our efforts and goals to protect patients’ rights.
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Officially launched the MEPs Interest Group on “European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare”
Active Citizenship Network is glad to invite you at the launch event of the new Members of European Parliament Interest Group on "European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare" which will be held on December 2nd, inside the European Parliament at ASP room A7H1, from 10:00 to 12:00.
Promoted by Active Citizenship Network with the support of hundreds of associations from all Europe, the Interest Group received the endorsement of many MEPs.
Presidents of two parliamentarian parties invite MEPs to join Interest Group promoted by ACN
David Borrelli, Co-Chair of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group, and Gianni Pittella, Chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, have decided to support the new Interest Group because they strongly believe that the European Parliament has today the opportunity to play an active role in improving the protection of patients’ rights in the European framework. For this reason they have wrote a letter to their colleagues in order to incite them to give also their support.
Maltese organisations encourage national MEPs to join the new Interest Group
Active Citizenship Network and the following Maltese Patient Organizations: “Malta Health Network”, “Europa Donna Malta”, “Arka Foundation”, “Malta Food Bank Foundation”, “No Pain Foundation”, “Association of Speech Language Pathologists”, “Arthritis and Rheumatism Association of Malta” wrote to all Maltese MEPs to invite them to take part in the new Interest Group on “European Patients' Rights and Cross-border Healthcare”.
