Euro brief 04


April 2008

For further information on any of these news items, please contact: nwhile@bma.org.uk Information to patients – BMA response
The BMA has published its official response to the European Commission consultation on the draft proposals on information to patients. The response highlights the BMA’s concerns with the proposals which would relax the current rules on direct to consumer advertising of prescription only pharmaceutical drugs by allowing pharmaceutical companies to provide 'information' on their products through a variety of media. The BMA will be working closely with other European health stakeholders on this issue in the autumn when the final proposals are due to be released. The BMA response can be read at the website below:

http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/EUinformationpatient

The issue of information to patients was discussed at the recent meeting of the BMA’s European Forum which brings together a range of UK-based health stakeholders who have an interest in European affairs. The guest speaker, Richard Tiner of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, told delegates that the UK pharmaceutical industry opposes direct to consumer advertising but would welcome proposals that would enable industry to provide further information directly to patients. Please contact the Brussels Office for a copy of the minutes of this meeting.

Exchange of views with EU Enterprise Commissioner on patient information
EU Enterprise Commissioner, Gunter Verheugen, attended the European Parliament’s public health committee earlier this month. He stated that the Commission’s pharmaceutical legislative package will be released in October 2008. The proposals will aim to protect consumers and patients but also to retain high quality pharmaceutical research in the EU in the face of global competition. The package will take the form of a communication on the future of the European pharmaceutical market and will cover three principal issues:
  1. Supervision of medicinal products
  2. Anti-counterfeiting measures
  3. Better information to patients
The debate with MEPs indicated a great deal of distrust and suspicion over the proposals regarding information to patients and was an indication that they may have a difficult journey through the European Parliament later in the year.

BMA Northern Ireland lobbying event in European Parliament
BMA Northern Ireland and the Irish Medical Organsiation held a joint lobbying event in the European Parliament earlier this month. The event was held to launch their new joint report on care of the elderly and was attended by a number of MEPs and health stakeholders. Please contact the Brussels Office for a copy of the joint report.

New EU Health Commissioner addresses MEPs
The new EU Health Commissioner was grilled by MEPs at the start of the month as part of the process of confirming her new post. Responding to questions from MEPs, Androula Vassiliou expressed her determination to release the long awaited proposals on cross border patient mobility on 25 June 2008. The proposals will form part of a larger social security package due to be published by DG Employment. She confirmed that the proposals would include a 'safety clause' to allow individual member states to take measures if the "export of patients" became excessive and potentially damaging to national health systems. Specifically, a country could require patients to ask for prior authorisation before seeking care abroad. Further information on her public hearing can be read at:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/hearings/commission/2008/default_en.htm

MEPs adopt organ donation report
MEPs have adopted a final report on the issue of organ donation in the EU. In their report, they call on the European Commission to remove legislation that reserves donor organs for use solely within the donor’s home member state and backed the idea of introducing an EU-wide donor card to complement existing national systems. The report can be read at the website below:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2008-0130+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN

EU Alcohol and Health meeting
The EU Alcohol and Health Forum held an open meeting this month in order to examine progress made since it was established last year. The forum now has a membership of 59 different organisations from across the EU and includes health professionals, NGOs and industry representatives. The long term goal of the forum is to de-normalise the abuse of alcohol. Further information can be found on the website below:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/Forum/alcohol_forum_en.htm

Conference announcement: mental health
The European Commission will hold a high level conference on mental health in Brussels on 13 June. The conference is expected to establish a European Pact for Mental Health and will focus on four themes:
  • Prevention of suicide and depression
  • Mental health in youth and education
  • Mental health in workplace settings
  • Mental health in the elderly
Further information can be found on the conference website:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/mental_health_en.htm

Long term care of the elderly
The European Commission has released a new report on the long term care of the elderly. The report analyses the main challenges facing member states in the field of long-term care, their strategies for tackling them and presents possible solutions. It identifies the main challenges for national governments as:
  • Ensuring access for all to long term care services
  • Securing financing for long term care through an adequate mix of public and private sources of finance and potential changes in the financing mechanisms
  • Improving coordination between social and medical services, often involved in the provision of long term care services
  • Promoting home or community-based care rather than institutional care to help dependent people remain in their own homes for as long as possible
  • Improving the recruitment and working conditions of formal carers and supporting informal carers
The report can be read at:

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/news/2008/apr/long_term_care_en.pdf

EU doctors slow to adopt e-Health
A new report on e-Health has concluded that the use of ICT in the healthcare sector is becoming a daily practice, as GPs increasingly use computers either to store medical patients' data or to assist patient consultation. However it also demonstrates that there is still room for improvement with some countries slow in their take-up of e-Health. The report can be read here:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/docs/benchmarking/gp_survey_final_report.pdf

Reminder: Commission consultation on patient safety
As mentioned last month, the European Commission has launched an online public consultation on patient safety. The online questionnaire can be completed until 20 May:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_overview/patient_safety/consultation_en.htm

European Commission asked to draft cancer action plan
EU health ministers have asked the European Commisison to draft a European cancer action plan. Ministers agreed on the need for an overall strategy and an action plan which would encompass cancer prevention as well as early detection, treatment, rehabilitation, palliative care and research. The aim would be to reduce the burden of both cancer and other chronic diseases. MEPs have also submitted an oral question to the Commission asking what action it intends to take to combat cancer in the EU.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=OQ&reference=O-2008-0014&language=EN

Ethical cross border recruitment
The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM) have jointly signed a code of conduct on ethical cross-border recruitment and retention. The code of conduct aims to tackle inequalities and unnecessary burdens on healthcare caused by unethical recruitment practices and can be read below:

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/emplweb/news/news_en.cfm?id=383

NHS European Office
The NHS Confederation has opened a European Office in Brussels in response to the growing importance of EU policy in the health sector. Further information on the work of the office can be found at the website below:

http://www.nhsconfed.org/euunit/euunit-3516.cfm

EU pharmacovigilance strategy: results of consultation
The European Commission has released the results of its public consultation on the draft legislative proposals for an EU pharmacovigilence strategy. The results can be read below:

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/pharmaceuticals/pharmacovigilance_acs/index.htm

Gastein 2008 dates announced
The annual European Health Forum will be held in Gastein (Austria) from 1-4 October 2008. For further information, please see the official website:

http://www.ehfg.org/index.php

© British Medical Association 2008

Log in to your BMA here