Conference "European Health at the service of patients"

On 13 and 14 October, the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union is to hold a conference in Paris on European health at the service of patients.

The objective of the conference is twofold:

• to present the added value of EU action on health issues, and,

to compare the progress achieved with patients' expectations and forthcoming challenges.

The EU carries out a wide range of actions in the field of health, including:

• the review of Europeans' state of health, the changes observed and how the EU can contribute to reducing inequalities;
• the development of cooperation and exchanges between countries on best practices and patients' rights, in particular their right to quality healthcare;
• the increase in available resources and expertise (particularly rare diseases) and support for research programmes;
• proposed regulations that intend to provide a clear framework for the issues raised by the mobility of patients outside their countries' borders, with the recent adoption by the College of Commissioners of a draft Directive on the application of patients' rights to cross-border healthcare.
  
  Within the framework of the Lisbon Agenda, the European Union has set itself the target of increasing the healthy life expectancy of its citizens and reducing inequalities.
  
  The meeting is organised around six major themes:
• mapping the state of health and chronic illnesses of Europeans;
• moving forward in terms of patient safety and information on the quality of care;
• improving access to diagnosis and quality healthcare, with the example of rare diseases;
• ensuring healthcare provision for patients in cross-border zones and guaranteeing their rights regarding mobility within the EU, while preserving the regulations and equilibrium of national systems;
• ensuring respect for patients' rights with the aim of fostering active European citizenship;
• identifying paths for progress through multiannual European health research, innovation and development programmes.
  

The meeting will give European countries the opportunity to exchange experiences on a number of subjects related to patients' rights, leaving ample time for debates between the 400 expected participant (experts, health professionals, patients' associations, European Commission and Member State representatives and MEPs etc.).

The languages used are French, English, German, Spanish, Italian and Czech. Translation will be provided from and into all these languages, and provided from Czech into the other languages only.

Report from the conference on "European Health at the service of patients"

• Updated: 29.12.2008

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