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Newsletter N° 171 – September 2019

In this issue:

HOPE activities

HOPE Agora 2019 Report released

Brexit joint event at the

Quality and safety network second webinar

News from Members

United-Kingdom - Welsh NHS Confederation Response to the Immigration White Paper

Finnish Presidency of the Council of the

“Economy of well-being” promoted by the Finnish Presidency

EU institutions and policies

The new

Eurobarometer reveals “health and social security” is a priority for EU citizens

Public Health

European Antibiotic Awareness Day

EU public health policies report – ENVI Committee

Cross-border Healthcare Expert Group Meeting

Avenue Marnix 30 - BE-1000 BRUSSELS l www.hope.be HOPE is an international non-profit association under Belgian law

New coalition on vaccination

Human and veterinary medicines – updating the rules on fees payable to the European Medicines Agency

Internal market

Cybersecurity of Medical Devices in the EU

Unique Device Identification (UDI) System – FAQs

Research and innovation

European Research and Innovation Days

Cancer – DG Research

Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion

Eurofound report: Quality of health and care services in the EU

European programmes and projects

Results of the investment plan for Europe (Juncker Plan) – released by the European Commission

Health workforce mobility – next steps

HTA: An Understanding of EUnetHTA

Reports and publications

Reports

➢ European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Strengthening health systems through nursing: Evidence from 14 European countries

Sustainable health financing with an ageing population

➢ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The impact of technological advancements on health spending

Decentralisation and performance measurement systems in healthcare

Recent Trends in International Migration of Doctors, Nurses and Medical Students

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➢ World Health Organization (WHO)

Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European Health Equity Status Report

Participatory approaches to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals: Slovenia

Essential Nutrition Actions: mainstreaming nutrition throughout the life - course

➢ Others

Implementing health in all policies. Lessons from around the world

Articles

➢ European Heart Journal - Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes

It’s not ageing, stupid: why population ageing won’t bankrupt health systems

➢ BMC Health Services Research

Implementing a survey for patients to provide safety experience feedback following a care transition: a feasibility study

➢ The European Journal of Health Economics

The closer the better: does better access to outpatient care prevent hospitalization?

Inefficiencies in a healthcare system with a regulatory split of power: a spatial panel data analysis of avoidable hospitalizations in Austria

➢ BMC Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation

Patients’ out-of-pocket expenses analysis of presurgical teledermatology

Other news – Europe

Migration of health professionals

Health Data Community Meeting - Data Save Lives initiative

Regulating for bias in medical education – Joint stakeholders’ response to the pharmaceutical industry updated self-regulatory code

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ICT-based support for informal carers - Eurocarers Study Visit

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) stakeholder network

Cyber Security in the Healthcare Sector – event

Upcoming HOPE (and co-organised) conferences and events

EU 2019-2024: Health Champions Wanted! Brussels, 9/10/2019

Brussels, 27/11/2019 Regenerative Medicine: Scientific Advances and Regulatory Framework in Europe

ICIC20 – 20th International Conference on Šibenik, 27-29/04/2020 Integrated Care

HOPE Agora 2020 Brussels, 5-7/06/2020

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HOPE Agora 2019 Report released

On 9 September 2019, HOPE published the full report of the HOPE Agora 2019 which took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 2-4 June 2019.

The report is available on HOPE website here.

All information about the HOPE Exchange Programme 2020 is also available online here.

Brexit joint event at the European Parliament

On 12 September 2019, HOPE co-organised with several European health-related organisations a joint event at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event was entitled “Brexit: the European Parliament’s role in prioritising patients, public health and health security across Europe”.

The key message delivered is an immediate call for action in the event of a no-deal scenario:

• Co-ordinated contingency plans for prioritising imports of medicines and medical goods, including clinical trials materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients and raw materials for manufacturing medicines. This could for example include exempting certain goods from customs and border checks, fast-tracking them at ports and airports and/or enabling paperwork and regulatory checks to be completed away from the physical border

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• An extended deadline for transferring UK-based testing of medical products to EU countries, so that UK-tested products can continue to be placed on the EU market after Brexit for the benefit of EU patients • Mutual recognition by the UK and EU of all CE marked medical technologies granted by notified bodies • Continued participation by both EU and UK patients in clinical trials of innovative new medicines and treatments • Continued UK participation in key data sharing platforms that protect the public from health threats such as pandemics, unsafe medicines and products, and unsafe practitioners • Continued collaboration and knowledge exchange in medical and scientific research and innovation, and networks such as European Reference Networks • Reciprocal healthcare arrangements for EU and UK citizens visiting, working or living across the UK/EU border • Mutual recognition of healthcare professionals’ qualifications so they can practise across the UK/EU border.

Written statement: Protecting patients – no deal contingency actions

HOPE-PAQS 2nd Webinar: Vienna tailor-made quality audit model

HOPE and PAQS organised their second webinar on 10 September 2019on the specific quality audit system from the Vienna Hospital Association (KAV), KAV-Q-Zert.

KAV-Q-Zert is a tailor-made audit model that was implemented since January 2018 and by which all clinical departments of the KAV are certified.

The webinar is fully accessible on PAQS YouTube channel by clicking here, the presentation and the summary are also accessible online.

Event page

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United-Kingdom

Welsh NHS Confederation Response to the Immigration White Paper

On 5 September 2019, the Welsh NHS Confederation released a joint response to the Immigration White Paper which reveals 53% of EU/EEA nationals currently working in NHS Wales earn below the £30,000pa salary threshold proposed within the UK Government.

The report highlights many jobs in health and social care do not fulfil the proposed requirements for the minimum skills or salary levels set by the UK Government as part of the skilled worker route.

The UK Government’s proposals will apply to all non-UK nationals once free movement ends and have prompted fears of a skills gap in the health and social care system in Wales.

The NHS in Wales employs nearly 95,000 people and around 2% (1,623) of the current workforce is made up of EU/EEA Nationals.

However, EU/EEA nationals work in essential areas where there is already a shortage of staff.

Some of the specialty professions impacted the most by this salary cap are Nurses and Midwifes, Psychologists, Chiropodists, Healthcare Scientists, Speech and Language and Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Orthoptists, Radiographers and Pharmacists.

It is estimated that between 97% and 100% of EU/EEA nationals within these professions will not meet the proposed salary threshold.

There will also be large impacts for social care providers, as many positions are unlikely to meet the necessary salary or skills level. This will greatly impact the ability of social care providers to supply essential services, which will have a knock-on impact on the NHS in Wales.

The response to the White Paper also highlights an increasing concern around freedom of movement ending as a result of a no-deal Brexit the day after 31 October.

Link

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“Economy of well-being” promoted by the Finnish Presidency

Finland’s Presidency is proposing to integrate an approach it calls the 'Economy of Wellbeing' into EU policy-making and organised on 18-19 September 2019 a high-level conference on this topic in Helsinki.

The event highlighted the Economy of Wellbeing approach, which examines the two-way relationship between wellbeing and the economy. The conference aimed to generate cross- sectoral dialogue on the themes for use in the forthcoming Council conclusions on the Economy of Wellbeing. This approach requires a new, horizontal mindset. The EU has a strong grip on economic policy, especially in the eurozone. However, many policies with an impact on wellbeing fall within the competence of the member states.

The Economy of Wellbeing provides an opportunity to look at both the economy and people’s wellbeing simultaneously. One challenge is to find ways to measure wellbeing. Financial monitoring has traditionally used indicators such as gross domestic product. However, it has been acknowledged that these indicators do not adequately reflect wellbeing. There is a need for better methods of data collection, statistical analysis and causal research. Some tools are already available from the EU’s statistical office Eurostat.

The European Semester for economic policy coordination is one of the key tools used by the Commission and the member states to monitor and develop ways to measure wellbeing.

• Event page • Draft Council conclusions on the Economy of Wellbeing • Executive Summary of the OECD Background paper • Eurofound Background Paper – Role of health and care services in improving well- being and economic performance

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The new European Commission

The new EU Commission President, , selected a team of Commissioners, based on candidates suggested by the Heads of State or Government which was announced on 10 September 2019.

The European Parliament has to give its consent to the new European Commission as a whole before the latter takes office. Hearings take place from 30 September 2019 to 8 October 2019 and MEPs will assess if each nominee is fit for the position proposed and ready to deliver on the programme that von der Leyen outlined to the European Parliament in July 2019.

Based on the committees’ recommendations, the Conference of Presidents will decide on 17 October if Parliament has received sufficient information to declare the hearing process closed. If so, the plenary will vote on whether or not to elect the Commission as a whole on 23 October, in Strasbourg.

The designated Commissioner for Health is from .

Born in , Stella Kyriakides got a degree in Psychology at the University of Reading and a master's degree in child maladjustment at Manchester. In 1999 she was appointed president of the First Breast Cancer Movement in Cyprus and served later as president of the European Breast Cancer Coalition Europa Donna. In 2016, she was appointed President of the National Committee on Cancer Strategy of the Council. Vice president of the party since 2013, she is known for her strong campaign supporting a law in 2018 decriminalizing abortion.

In her letter to Kyriakides, Ursula von der Leyen emphasises the key priorities identified for the new Commission mandate:

• Access to affordable medicines by supporting the European pharmaceutical industry to ensure that it remains an innovator and world leader; • Effective implementation of the new regulatory framework on medical devices; • e-health to provide high-quality healthcare and reduce inequalities with the creation of a European Health Data Space to promote health-data exchange and support research; • Full implementation of the European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance; • Communication on vaccination to tackle vaccine hesitancy and misinformation; • Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to support Member States to improve cancer prevention and care.

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The Health Commissioner will now work under the guidance of the Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal () on issues relating food safety, animal and plant health, instead of the Executive Vice-President for Digital Age as in the previous mandate. She will rely on the Vice-President for Protecting our European Way of Life () on public health matters.

The Hearing of Stella Kyriakides took place on 1 October 2019 at 18:30 with the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) as responsible and the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) as associate. The video of the hearing (and soon the hearing report as well) can be found here.

A sample of other designated Commissioners whose work might also impact the healthcare sector:

Frans Timmermans (the Netherlands), Executive vice president for European Green Deal

First Vice-President and for Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights from 2014 to 2019. He was the lead candidate of the Party of European Socialists (PES) for President of the European Commission in the European election that was held in May 2019. Timmermans previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2014 and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2010 in charge of European Affairs. He was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the Labour Party from 1998 to 2007 and again 2010 to 2012. He was a civil servant in the Government of the Netherlands from 1987 to 1998, until he became active in politics.

Margrethe Vestager (Denmark), Executive vice president for the Digital Age

Vestager was a member of the Folketing from 20 November 2001 until 2 September 2014, representing the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre). She was the political leader of her party from 2007 to 2014 and served as Minister of Economic Affairs and the Interior from 2011 to 2014. She was assigned the Competition dossier in the Juncker Commission 2014-2019. Vestager's work as competition commissioner received criticism from US President Donald Trump (who also dubbed her as the EU's "Tax Lady").

Sylvie Goulard (France), Internal Market

The former centrist MEP and economic expert worked in former Commission chief Romano Prodi’s cabinet. She was appointed defence minister in 2017, when Edouard Philippe’s first government was formed, before quickly resigning. ENA (Ecole Nationale d’Administration) and HEC (Haute Ecole de Commerce) graduate, she is well versed in economic and social issues. Since the beginning of 2018, she had been working as deputy governor at the Bank of France. She was implicated in the opening of a preliminary investigation led by France’s office fighting corruption and financial crimes, the investigation was based on suspicions of fictitious employment in the Parliament.

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Nicolas Schmit (Luxembourg), Jobs

Nicolas Schmit studied economics in France at the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence. Politician from Luxembourg, he has been serving as Member of the European Parliament since 2019. A member of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), he was previously a member of the government of Luxembourg from 2004 until 2019. He has served as Luxembourg’s ambassador and permanent representative to the EU for six years.

Mariya Gabriel (Bulgaria), Innovation and Youth

Mariya Gabriel graduated in Bulgarian and French languages at the Plovdiv University and in ‘Comparative Politics and International Relations’ at the Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux. She is a Bulgarian politician and a member of the GERB party (conservative). She is the current European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Previously, she was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2017. There, she served as Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP) group, Vice-President of EPP Women and head of the Bulgarian EPP delegation. She focuses on fake news, digital skills and the promotion of the European audiovisual sector.

Dubravka Šuica (Croatia), Vice-President for Democracy and Demography

Member of the center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), she served two consecutive terms as mayor of Dubrovnik between 2001 and 2009. She had been a member of the Croatian Parliament in three terms from 2001 to 2011. Since 2004, she has been elected five times in a row as Vice- President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the . She has been elected to the European Parliament in 2013 election and reelected in 2014 and 2019. In October 2012, she was elected Vice-President of the EPP Women's association and in June 2019 Vice-President of the EPP's EU parliament group.

Hearings schedule

EU Commission chart

Latest news: incomplete financial declarations

Nine EU commissioner candidates have been taken to task for incomplete financial declarations by the European Parliament's (EP) legal affairs committee.

The revelation, made by French left-wing MEP Manon Aubry, on Twitter on 19 September did not name names. But eight of them were listed by Polish news website Onet.pl, citing an EP source.

Onet.pl's list included: (Spanish candidate for EU the foreign affairs chief portfolio); (Portuguese candidate for cohesion and reforms);

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(Austria's candidate for budget); Stellia Kyriakidu (Cyprus' candidate for health); Rovana Plumb (Romania's candidate for transport); (Belgium's candidate for justice); (Estonian candidate for energy); and (Polish candidate for agriculture).

The candidates were asked to submit additional information on their declarations by 27 September, so that the legal affairs committee can give the green light for their public hearings by the parliament, starting 30 September.

If the supplementary details are deemed inadequate, the legal affairs committee can also call them in for a mini-hearing, which would take place behind closed doors, prior to their public examination.

Romanian and Hungarian Commissioner nominees rejected by JURI Committee

The European Parliament’s legal committee (JURI) rejected on 26 September Commissioner- designate from Romania Rovana Plumb, the nominee for transport commissioner, and the Hungarian designate László Trócsányi, who was in line to be commissioner for relations with the EU neighbours.

Fifteen members of the Legal Affairs Committee voted to reject Rovana Plumb’s candidacy while six voted in her favour. There were two abstentions. The committee voted against László Trócsányi by a margin of 11 against and nine in favour. Two MEPs abstained.

The unprecedented move means the pair cannot proceed to confirmation hearings that begin next week for Ursula von der Leyen's Commission, which is due to take office on 1 November 2019.

According to EU rules, if the committee concludes a nominee could not carry out the duties of a commissioner, the Parliament president should ask the Commission chief how she plans to proceed. Ursula Von der Leyen could try to address the committee's concerns and ask MEPs to reconsider the nominees, although it seems not clear from the current report if addressing these concerns is doable or not. She could also withdraw the nominees and ask their governments to put forward new candidates.

The committee has yet to publicly detail the reasons for its decisions, taken following closed- door sessions with both Rovana Plumb and László Trócsányi.

The concerns related to Rovana Plumb, a former government minister from Romania's ruling Social Democrats, has centered on two loans worth nearly €1 million that she did not declare in her original financial declaration scrutinized by MEPs. In Romania, the center-right President called for the government to put forward a new nominee. But the secretary- general of the Social Democrats (who control the government) accused the Romanian opposition of sabotaging Rovana Plumb in the European Parliament.

László Trócsányi, a former justice minister, has come under scrutiny over links between a law firm he founded and work that it carried out for the Hungarian government. The government of right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused the committee of rejecting its nominee due to Budapest's hard line against migration from outside the EU. László Trócsányi himself intends to contest the decision by taking legal action as he considers it to be a political decision.

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Eurobarometer reveals “health and social security” is a priority for EU citizens

A Eurobarometer poll released in July 2019 reveals EU citizens consider “health and social security” as one of the three “most important issues” being faced in their particular country. The other two are unemployment and the rising cost of living.

Health and social security concerns top the charts in six nations, namely Finland (48%); Slovenia (47%); Hungary (45%); Portugal (34%); Latvia (32%); and the UK at 29%.

Ten countries rank health and social security in second place, with the highest proportions in Sweden (42%), Ireland (41%) and Denmark (40%).

Link

European Antibiotic Awareness Day

The European Antibiotic Awareness Day is an annual European public health initiative that takes place on 18 November to raise awareness about the threat to public health of antibiotic resistance and the importance of prudent antibiotic use. The latest data confirms that across the European Union the number of patients infected by resistant bacteria is increasing and that antibiotic resistance is a major threat to public health.

Prudent use of antibiotics can help stop resistant bacteria from developing and help keep antibiotics effective for the use of future generations. In 2019, the EU-level launch event celebrating the 12th anniversary of the European Antibiotic Awareness Day initiative will take place on 18 November in Stockholm (where the European Centre for Diseases Control (ECDC) is located). The event is a platform for governmental institutions, professional and patient organisations, country representatives and media to come together and discuss the current situation regarding antibiotic resistance and the actions taken to address them by all stakeholders, both at EU/EEA and national levels.

Objectives:

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➢ To raise awareness of prudent use of antibiotics and promote ECDC products and services on antibiotic resistance to influence public health policies and to keep AMR high on the political agenda among policy makers within EU institutions, Ministries of Health and national public health institutes and other health authorities, including ECDC Coordinating Competent Bodies; ➢ To engage and mobilise EU-level stakeholders which interests intersect with ECDC spheres of activity in the area of AMR, to enable these stakeholders to act as multipliers and ambassadors of ECDC messages and content, and to better reach our primary target audience, i.e. healthcare workers; ➢ To engage national media in EU/EEA countries in raising awareness about prudent use of antibiotics and AMR, promoting ECDC’s reputation and profile as well as acting as a vehicle for disseminating information to our target audiences;

This year, together with its annual update on antibiotic resistance and antibiotic consumption surveillance data from EU/EEA countries, ECDC will release the report on the “Survey of healthcare workers’ knowledge and attitudes about antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, EU/EEA, 2019”, which include stratification of results by country, profession and setting. The survey findings will provide a basis to support our stakeholders with strategies for policy development, behaviour change interventions and communication campaigns targeting healthcare workers on prudent use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in Europe.

EU public health policies report- ENVI Committee

In September 2019, the European Parliament released a report entitled “EU Public Health Policies- State of play, current and future challenges”.

This study provides an outlook on the topics that may shape the ENVI Committee’s public health agenda during the new legislature. It describes key public health definitions, principles and concepts, discusses the EU’s powers to act on health, and presents an overview of health policy developments and challenges. This document was provided by Policy Department A at the request of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety of the European Parliament.

Report

Cross-Border Healthcare Expert Group Meeting

On 21 May 2019 took place the Cross-Border Healthcare Expert Group Meeting of National Contact Points (NCPS) for Cross-Border Healthcare.

The objective of the meeting was to exchange views on the Commission’s 2018 report on the operation of Directive 2011/24/EU and to share experiences on the provision of information to patients, as well as to discuss the outcomes of the European Parliament report of February 2019 and of the Informal Health Council in April 2019. The meeting also

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addressed the launch of the 2018 data collection exercise as well as the Single Digital Gateway Regulation, its implications for NCPs and the thematic network on “Healthcare in cross-border regions” under the EU Health Policy Platform.

On the implementation of the Directive 2011/24/EU, the main issues raised were amongst others were:

➢ The role of NCPs in various projects and relevant ongoing work should be spelt out more clearly; ➢ The interaction of the Directive with the Social Security Regulations still proved difficult to explain to patients; ➢ One NCP representative informed that over and above information campaigns, they are also training healthcare professionals on applicable Guidelines related to the implementation of the Cross-border Healthcare Directive; ➢ The discussion highlighted that the websites should be looked at from the angle of the patient and become the object of continuous improvement so that the end-user perspective can be enhanced.

The Commission announced that publication of the European Court of Auditors performance audit is due in June and that there is a strong agreement amongst the Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament to strengthen information to patients, increase transparency, abolish administrative barriers and support work of NCPs. The European Parliament Report endorsed the production and dissemination of a toolbox for NCPs. The European Commission will translate key parts of the toolbox for the benefit of NCPs in the coming months.

On behalf of DG GROW, Hans Dietrich Druener presented the Single Digital Gateway Regulation and its consequences for NCPs. It will build on the Your Europe Advice legacy and infrastructure and its launch in December 2020 will have implications for NCPs, as they are listed as Assistance Services under Annex III of the Regulation 2018/1724.

Isabelle Dévé provided a state of play on European Reference Networks (ERNs) and supportive material for NCPs to inform on ERNs via their websites.

Valentina Polylas, on behalf of the European Regional & Local Authorities (EUREGHA), gave an update on the work done by her organisation. Cooperation in border regions will remain high on the agenda also in the next Commission. The NCPs are invited to take part in the preparatory work for the Joint Statement by registering in the Health Policy Platform. Considerable efforts have gone into the preparation of the Joint Statement to be published in the autumn under the Health Policy Platform.

New coalition on vaccination

On 12 September 2019, European associations of healthcare professionals have established a Coalition for Vaccination to commit to delivering accurate information to the public, combating myths and exchanging best practices. The Coalition is based on the 2018 EU Council Recommendation on strengthened cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases.

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The Coalition is co-chaired by the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN) and the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU). It is also backed up by the European Commission which provides coordination and administrative support.

Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in delivering facts based on scientific evidence and increase public awareness about the benefits of immunisation. The members of the new Coalition gathered in Brussels to discuss their potential commitments on 11 September, a day before the Global Vaccination Summit, organised by the European Commission and the World Health Organization (WHO).

This Global Vaccination Summit discussions are summarized in a document entitled “Ten Actions Toward Vaccination For All”.

European Commission infographic

Human and veterinary medicines – updating the rules on fees payable to the European Medicines Agency

On 18 September 2019, the EU Commission launched a public consultation on Human and Veterinary Medicines.

This initiative will analyse the various options for updating the rules governing the fees payable to the European Medicines Agency, which evaluates medicinal products (for humans and animals) prior to sale in the EU.

The consultation will be open until 16 October 2018.

Link

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Cybersecurity of Medical Devices in the EU

HOPE was represented at the Joint Research Center workshop that took place on 17 and 18 June 2019.

The GROW.D.4 - Health Technology and Cosmetics, the leading policy DG for MDs, established in spring 2018 a Task-Force (TF) on cybersecurity for Medical Devices (MD) with the overall mission to develop a guidance document for MD manufacturers in order to comply with the new Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which will become fully applicable on 25 May 2020.

The TF is coordinated by DG GROW in cooperation with ENISA, experts from Member States, industry, healthcare institutions including the JRC F2 Consumer Products Safety supported by JRC E2 Technology Innovation in Security and JRC E3 Cyber & Digital Citizens' Security.

The work under development by the TF, involves methodology for applying safe manufacturing practices guided by security risk management and security risk/benefit analysis.

The JRC.F2 organised this workshop on behalf of DG GROW with participation of TF members and external experts with the objective to present and critically review the interim results obtained to date by the TF. The participants included thirty experts from Competent Authorities, Notified Bodies, Manufacturers, Academia and independent experts.

During the Workshop the draft guidance version 13 June 2019 was discussed in full detail and was found as a satisfactory base to produce a final draft version.

Unique Device Identification (UDI) System – FAQs

On 12 August 2019, the European Commission released a new document aiming at giving more guidance on the Unique Identification System (UDI) under the EU Medical Device Regulations 2017/745 and 2017/746.

The new system will be applied to all medical devices except custom-made and performance study/investigational devices and is substantially based on internationally recognised principles, notably by using definitions that are compatible with those used by major trade partners.

Link

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European Research and Innovation Days

The European Research & Innovation Days took place in Brussels, Belgium from 24 to 26 September. They were designed to bring together policymakers, academics, industry, civil society and entrepreneurs to discuss how research and innovation can help tackle the major issues facing the EU over the next decade.

The idea was to seek a wide range of opinions from experts and interested parties about priorities for the first four years of the EU’s upcoming €100 billion research funding programme, Horizon Europe. In addition to conference sessions, policymakers from the EU and national administrations will be available throughout the event in a space called Horizon Village to gather further input from participants.

The event, which is set to be an annual affair, consisted of a policy conference to shape the Horizon Europe work programme, an innovation hub for innovators and investors to network, and a public exhibition called Science is Wonderful!.

With a proposed budget of €100 billion from 2021 to 2027, the Horizon Europe framework programme represents the largest collaborative multinational research and innovation investment in Europe and is open to participants worldwide. The European Parliament and the Council have provisionally agreed on the Horizon Europe legislative package. Based on the agreement, a Strategic Plan will put forward the priorities for the first four years of Horizon Europe. In parallel, the Commission has begun designing the Implementat, a tool to focus attention, planning efforts and resources to the rules, processes, systems, ion strategy documents and guidance, so that they are ready in time for the programme start.

HOPE contributed to co-designing the implementation of the future research and innovation programme by responding to a questionnaire designed by the European commission.

Cancer – DG Research

The Directorate General Research published 18 September 2019 in its weekly magazine online “Horizon” an article named “Will we ever cure cancer?”

Three cancer experts - Nobel laureate Professor Harald zur Hausen, Professor Walter Ricciardi and Dr Elisabete Weiderpass – were asked for their thoughts on curing cancer. They all sit on the EU Horizon Europe mission board for cancer and will help to define a concrete target for Europe in this area over the next decade.

Cancer will be a priority of the new Commission as it is one “Mission” of the new “Horizon” research programme.

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The scope of the Horizon Europe Mission on Cancer was under discussion on 25 September 2019 at the EU’s Research and Innovation Days event in Brussels, Belgium.

Read more

Eurofound report: Quality of health and care services in the EU

This report reveals citizens’ perceptions of quality in healthcare, long-term care and childcare, and compares them between countries, groups in society and the receivers of care and indirect service users.

Report

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Results of the investment plan for Europe (Juncker Plan) – released by the European Commission

On 18 July 2019, the European Commission published the results of the Juncker Plan, with funding from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), by sector and country. This financing has been approved by the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group.

In the health sector, too, a large number of investments have been financed, as reported under the social sector.

Read more

Health workforce mobility – next steps

HOPE joined the webinar that took place on 5 July 2019 organised by the SEPEN network of the EU Health Policy Platform.

The EU Health Policy Platform hosted a live webinar introduced by Sarada Das, Deputy Secretary General, Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME).

Mr Ibadat Dhillon, Department of Health Workforce, World Health Organisation did a key note presentation followed by Dr Eszter Kovács, Semmelweis University, SEPEN project manager and Paolo Michelutti, AGE.NA.S. (Agenzia Nazionale per i Servizi Sanitari Regionali), Italy.

The presentation and streaming recording link of this webinar are available here.

HTA: An Understanding of EUnetHTA The EUnetHTA Executive Board adopted on 26 July 2019 a document entitled “Understanding of EUnetHTA HTA”. The EUnetHTA Executive Board agreed that HTA in the context of EUnetHTA activities is understood to be composed of the following elements:

• Assessments should inform decision-making. • Assessments are not decision-making processes themselves. • Information should be of relevance to a decision-maker or user of the assessment. Wording which is overly exclusionary has the potential to predetermine decision- making and formulations such as “no conclusions can be drawn” should be avoided. • Assessments should include the best available evidence at a specific given time point. • Assessments should specifically formulate a ‘summary of findings’. • Summaries should endeavour to use clear and concise scientific language.

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➢ European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

Strengthening health systems through nursing: Evidence from 14 European countries

This publication released by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies in August 2019 aims to provide a synthesis of the main trends impacting nursing across European countries by using 12 case studies.

According to the authors, the work of nurses has always had a critical impact on patient outcomes. As health systems shift radically in response to rising demand, the role of nurses becomes even more important. From this synthesis, readers can compare data and trends in the different countries. The template for each country follows a broader contextual description and analysis of the structure, organization and funding of the health system, looking at nurses’ work and the forces which shape that, such as education and training, as well as regulation, with a concluding summary drawing together the strands into a policy synthesis and implications for the health system.

The case-study analysis demonstrates wide variation in every dimension of the workforce. The publication examines: what a nurse is; what nurse-to-doctor and nurse-to-population ratios are; the education, regulation and issuing of credentials to nurses; and the planning of the workforce. While comparative analysis across countries brings these differences into sharp relief, it also reveals how the EU functions as an important ‘binding agent’, drawing these diverse elements together into a more coherent whole.

Link

Sustainable health financing with an ageing population

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies has published in September 2019 the second brief of the Economics of Healthy and Active Ageing series.

From the lack of knowledge about the effect of population ageing on the ability to generate revenues to pay for health, the brief observes how health and long-term care systems are funded and reports on the potential effects of population ageing on countries’ ability to generate appropriate and stable revenues for health from common funding sources in the future.

The effects are considered: for countries with young populations but facing rapid population ageing; and for countries that have already large populations of older adults. The analyses

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found that in the first group of countries where there is a large share of people likely to be active in the labour market, population ageing can have a positive impact on revenue generation from all funding sources. In the second group however, relying on social contributions generated from the labour market to raise revenues for health is expected to result in fewer revenues per person over the coming decades. Finally, the authors present several policy options to address revenue shortcomings caused by population ageing.

Link

➢ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The impact of technological advancements on health spending

On 22 August 2019, the OECD published a Health Working Paper based on a literature review of the impact of technological advances on health expenditure growth.

The impact that technology has as a driver of health care expenditure is complex since technological effects are related with other determinants like income or health status. The paper highlights the interaction between supply and demand as well as context when it comes to the level of technology use. There are also important quality changes that come with technological progress that also have monetary costs and benefits involved. Modelling quality improvements, both in terms of benefits within the health system and outside, is a challenging task, and no macroeconomic models to date have tried to capture them.

The study estimated an impact of technology progress on health expenditure growth ranges significantly – 10 to 75% of the observed annual growth of health expenditure, with most of the studies reporting values between 25 and 50%. Applying an average value from the literature – 35% – to growth rates of health expenditure observed across OECD countries, the authors estimated that technological change explains around 1% of annual growth in health spending from 1995-2015. Assuming technological progress keeps its contribution to health spending growth constant and considering available projections, this would imply that technological change would increase health spending by 0.9% annually up to 2030.

Link

Decentralisation and performance measurement systems in healthcare

On 18 April 2019, the OECD published a paper on the decentralisation of health systems focusing on their diversities according to different institutional characteristics and the types of performance measurement systems used in the health sector.

On one hand, central governments tend to have the greatest role on the decision-making process. On the other hand, sub-national government have more control over decisions concerning inputs, outputs and monitoring of health care services. Centralised performance

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measurement systems are the most used across OECD countries specially to monitor the performance of hospital providers in order to improve performance rather than reducing service costs. Secondary services and other providers of medical goods are less likely to be monitored under a certain performance framework.

Link

Recent Trends in International Migration of Doctors, Nurses and Medical Students

On 25 July 2019, the OECD issued a report on the recent trends in the international migration of doctors and nurses in OECD countries.

Foreign-born and foreign-trained doctors and nurses have contributed to the increase on the number of professionals over the past decades in many OECD countries. Regarding internationalisation of medical education, the new analysis shows that in some countries such as Norway or Sweden, many foreign-trained doctors are people born in these countries but who obtained their first medical degree abroad before coming back. The report states that even though the internationalisation of medical education provides new opportunities, there are potential risks of waste in human capital if the growing number of new graduates exceed the number of available internships and speciality trainings. To conclude, the report presents four case studies regarding EU countries (France, Ireland, Poland and Romania) on the internationalisation of medical education and a study about “brain gain” and “brain waste” in Canada.

Link

➢ World Health Organisation (WHO)

Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European Health Equity Status Report

On September 2019, The World Health Organization in the European region has published the Health Equity Status Report (HESR).

This is the first ever report on health inequality and it is a comprehensive review of the status and trends in health inequities and of the essential conditions needed for all to be able to live a healthy life in the WHO European Region. The report shows that in the 53 countries in the area there are clear differences between the impoverished and wealthiest in society. It also identifies five essential conditions needed to create and sustain a healthy life for all: good quality and accessible health services; income security and social protection; decent living conditions; social and human capital and decent work and employment conditions. Policy actions are needed to address all five conditions. The HESR also considers the drivers of health equity: policy coherence, accountability, social participation and empowerment. The

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report provides evidence of the indicators driving health inequities in each of the 53 Member States of the Region as well as the solutions to reducing these inequities.

Poverty, poor education and an inadequate social safety net have an impact on health from the first months of life, the report shows. Across Europe four per cent more babies in deprived areas die before their first birthday compared to those born in the most affluent ones.

Between 2005 and 2016 this gap stayed the same or widened in 23 countries. In 2016 average life expectancy across the region was 82 years for women and 76.2 years for men but there are significant differences depending on where you live and your socioeconomic status. A woman’s life expectancy is cut by up to seven years and a man’s by up to 15 years if they are in the most disadvantaged groups in the region.

Link

Participatory approaches to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals: Slovenia

Integrating population and individual services to reduce health inequalities at the community level through health-promotion centres

The World Health Organization presented in March 2019 a report on the Slovenia’s experience towards reaching Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 10: achieving good health and well- being and leaving no one behind.

The main actions taken in order to achieve the goals have been the introduction of a collaborative approach in the health systems especially between the primary health care and public health services which has resulted as a method to reach vulnerable groups; the introduction of community-based approaches, using formal and informal types of care and a mix of population/individual based intervention which has led to increase social cohesion; and the creation of health-promotion centres in primary-health-care centres as an important factor in linking stakeholders with the Slovenian health system.

The case of Slovenia illustrates the capability of delivering preventive services and public health programmes focusing on vulnerable groups. However, coordination structures and a competent workforce are crucial to the successful performance of these functions and to assuring the integration of the different services implicated. Slovenia’s pilot experience in the use of health promotion centres exemplifies the potential of action at the local level in mobilizing individuals and organizations to build healthy communities.

Link

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Essential Nutrition Actions: mainstreaming nutrition throughout the life- course

Health services must integrate a stronger focus on ensuring optimum nutrition at each stage of a person’s life, according to a new report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 4 September 2019. It is estimated that the right investment in nutrition could save 3.7 million lives by 2025.

Investment in nutrition actions will help countries get closer to their goal of achieving universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. It can also help the economy, with every US$1 spent by donors on basic nutrition programmes returning US$ 16 to the local economy.

The world has made progress in nutrition, but major challenges still exist. There has been a global decline in stunting (low height-for-age ratio): between 1990 and 2018, the prevalence of stunting in children aged under 5 years declined from 39.2% to 21.9%, or from 252.5 million to 149.0 million children, though progress has been much slower in Africa and South-East Asia. Obesity, however, is on the rise. The prevalence of children considered overweight rose from 4.8% to 5.9% between 1990 and 2018, an increase of over 9 million children. Adult overweight and obesity are also rising in nearly every region and country, with 1.9 billion people overweight in 2016, of which 650 million (13% of the world’s population) are obese. Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes; cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke); musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis – a highly disabling degenerative disease of the joints); and some cancers (including endometrial, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, and colon).

An increased focus on nutrition by the health services is key to addressing both aspects of the “double-burden” of malnutrition. The Essential Nutrition Actions publication is a compilation of nutrition actions to address this “double burden” of underweight and overweight and provide a tool for countries to integrate nutrition interventions into their national health and development policies.

Link

➢ Others

Implementing health in all policies. Lessons from around the world

In August 2019, the Health Foundation published a set of case studies related to the “Health in all policies” approach.

The approach is seen as a method to improve health and health equity through cross-sector action on the wider determinants of health: the social, environmental, economic and commercial conditions in which people live. The nine cases presented exemplify practical attempts to do this around the world. Different achievements and challenges can be observed

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from each project which can work as guidelines to implement them in the UK and in other countries. The report aims to inspire ideas, generate discussion and share knowledge.

Link

➢ European Heart Journal - Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes

It’s not ageing, stupid: why population ageing won’t bankrupt health systems

This article, released in July 2019, aims to bring evidence against the belief that ageing populations will make healthcare expenditures unsustainable by examining how population ageing is likely to affect future healthcare expenditure (HCE) growth.

The findings suggest that despite the increasing share of older people over the next few decades, the changing age-mix will not be a significant driver of healthcare expenditure growth. While older people, on average, incur higher per person healthcare spending than younger people, the proportions of the population at the oldest and most costly age groups increase very slowly over time.

The authors estimate that in the European Union, the changing age-mix to result in the increase of the average annual growth in per person health spending by no more than 0.6 additional percentage points per year between 2015 and 2050. Hence, price growth and technological advancements, independent of population ageing, will be the main contributors to future HCE growth.

Link

➢ BMC Health Services Research

Implementing a survey for patients to provide safety experience feedback following a care transition: a feasibility study

The aim of this article, published in August 2019, was to determine the feasibility of implementing a patient safety survey which measures patients’ experiences of their own safety relating to a care transition.

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According to the authors, there is a strong link between patient experience, safety and clinical effectiveness, and it is suggested that patient feedback on safety experiences can provide a source of data that highlights latent conditions within care transitions. As such, there is a need to explore how patients can be enabled and supported to provide feedback on their safety experiences relating to their care transition.

Regarding the results, older age was a contributing factor to lower responses. Delays were the largest safety concern for patients. Patient interviews identified that providing feedback was acceptable, subject to certain conditions being met; cognitive-cultural, structural-procedural and learning and change. From the resulting findings, the authors concluded that patients can provide meaningful feedback on their experiences and perceptions of safety in the context of care transitions.

Link

➢ The European Journal of Health Economics

The closer the better: does better access to outpatient care prevent hospitalization?

This article, published on The European Journal of Health Economics – Volume 20, Issue 6 of August 2019, estimates the extent of substitution between outpatient and impatient care in Hungary.

How to best allocate limited public resources across outpatient and inpatient healthcare services to achieve maximum improvement in health outcomes is one of the recurring questions of health policy all over the world.

The study shows that the number of outpatient visits increased by 19% and the number of inpatient stays decreased by 1.6% as a result, driven by a marked reduction of potentially avoidable hospitalization (PAH) (5%). PAH effects occur in the year after the treatment, whereas non-PAH only decreases with a multi-year delay. The estimations suggest that a one euro increase in outpatient care expenditures produces a 0.6 euro decrease in inpatient care expenditures.

The article’s results strengthen the claim that bringing outpatient care closer to a previously underserved population produces considerable health benefits and suggest as well that there is a strong substitution element between outpatient and inpatient care.

Link

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Inefficiencies in a healthcare system with a regulatory split of power: a spatial panel data analysis of avoidable hospitalizations in Austria

The European Journal of Health Economics has published in September 2019 this paper that exploits the considerable regional variations in acute and chronic avoidable hospitalisations in Austria to investigate whether those inefficiencies in primary care are rather related to regional healthcare supply or to population characteristics.

Despite generous universal social health insurance with little formal restrictions of outpatient utilisation, Austria exhibits high rates of avoidable hospitalisations, which indicate the inefficient provision of primary healthcare and might be a consequence of the strict regulatory split between the Austrian inpatient and outpatient sector.

The results of the analysis show that supply-side variables, such as the number of general practitioners, are significantly associated with decreased chronic and acute avoidable hospitalisations, whereas characteristics of the regional population, such as the share of population with university education or long-term unemployed, are less relevant.

Link

➢ BMC Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation

Patients’ out-of-pocket expenses analysis of presurgical teledermatology

The study published in August 2019 undertakes an economic analysis of presurgical teledermatology from a patient perspective in the Portuguese public healthcare system, comparing it with a conventional referral system.

Store-and-forward teledermatology allows surgical planning, saving both time and number of visits involving travel, thereby reducing patients’ out-of-pocket expenses, i.e. costs that patients incur when traveling to and from health providers for treatment, visits’ fees, and opportunity cost of time spent in visits. The study quantifies the opportunity costs and direct costs of visits for adults waiting for dermatology surgery.

The author concludes that from a patient economic perspective, teledermatology used for presurgical planning and preparation is the dominant strategy in terms of out-of-pocket expenses, outperforming the conventional referral system, especially for patients with severe dermatoses.

Link

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Migration of health professionals

HOPE responded to a questionnaire/interview designed by the Open Society on the phenomenon of mass migration of health professionals from post-2004 member states of Central and Eastern Europe to member states in Western Europe.

The question was on the extent of health professional mobility in Europe and how has it changed over the years, especially in the last years, as this is hardly covered by publications. They are also looking at the trends and the underlying causes of health professional mobility.

The questionnaire was quoting and article of Irene Glinos, 2015 (Health professional mobility in the European Union: Exploring the equity and efficiency of free movement): ‘From an EU perspective, the question is not merely what flows mean for individual countries but what free mobility does to the redistribution of resources Europe-wide. When a qualified health professional moves, one country benefits from what another country has spent on educating and training that person. In this sense, foreign-trained also means ‘foreign-funded’. The redistribution can lead to allocative inefficiency when important outflows from a country are not offset by inflows and to equity concerns when poorer Member States subsidise a proportion of wealthier Member States’ health workforce.’

Another aim of the questionnaire was to identify what could be the additional value of private philanthropy and under which conditions.

Health Data Community Meeting - Date Saves Lives initiative

On 17 September 2019, HOPE attended the Health Data Community Meeting in Brussels. The event was focusing on the “Data Saves Lives” initiative and the official launching of its web portal. The initiative is a multi-stakeholder platform hosted by the European’s Patients’ Forum (EPF) secretariat and the European Institute for Innovation through Health Data (i~HD) leading the content development. The initiative emerged from the gap observed between the scarcity of health data in the European Union context and the importance of using health data to improve quality of healthcare and research. “Data Saves Lives” intends to create resources adaptable to be used at national and local level but above all, to achieve a safe dialogue between different stakeholders and ensure the contribution of various interests.

The first objective of the meeting was to get feedback on how to improve some aspects of the initiative especially the web portal and to identify some priorities. The main concerns were the need of defining the target population and the importance of data protection and privacy. The second objective was to identify the potential challenges of the initiative. “How can we use data to ensure it saves lives?” and “How can we maintain public trust in sharing data?” were the questions with more support to define the challenges. The last objective was to reflect on guiding principles on health data use. The principles already considered were integrity,

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transparency and neutrality. From the debate among the participants two broad categories were in the spotlight: principles related to governance such as accountability, reciprocity and patient-centricity; and principles related to ethical approaches such as confidentiality, equality and fairness.

The aspects debated in the course of the day will be examined and considered by the initiative’s core group in the next days and a feedback on the final discussion will be provided to the participants.

Read more

Regulating for bias in medical education – Joint stakeholders’ response to the pharmaceutical industry updated self-regulatory code

On 11 September 2019, several organisations issued a joint statement to highlight the shortcomings in the new European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) Code of Practice.

The signatories are organisations active in the field of transparency: Mental Health Europe, Continuing Medical Education - European Accreditors, European Continuing Medical Education (CME) Forum, European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA), Global Health Advocates The Good CME Practice group, International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME).

The response raises concerns about the privileges granted to pharmaceutical companies under the new Code of Practice. The updated self-regulatory Code allows the pharmaceutical industry to influence the content of medical education and to conceal promotional activities under the guise of education.

“Much of the medical education is currently funded by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. This practice carries a significant risk to public and personal health, especially if it is not adequately safeguarded by a high standard of accreditation,” says the response signed by doctors, healthcare professionals, medical students, medical education stakeholders, mental health advocates and users of mental healthcare. To preserve scientific integrity and safety of care, signatories call for independence in medical education. “Only fully independent medical education can contribute to improving patient outcomes and quality of care,” concludes the response.

Regulating for bias in medical education - Joint response

ICT-based support for informal carers - Eurocarers Study Visit

On 12 September 2019 HOPE took part in Eurocarers Study Visit on the topic of “ICT-based support for informal carers” in Brussels.

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Eurocarers is a network representing informal carers and their organisations which has been advocating for adequate and accessible ICT-based solutions to be made available to informal carers across Europe. It is also involved as a partner in various of EU transnational projects developing ICT-based outcomes for carers (notably CARE4DEM and ME-WE).

The event focused on how information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be very instrumental in the development of innovative tools addressing the various needs of informal carers and contributing to break the isolation they suffer from. In particular, ICTs-based solutions can help carers accessing information, training and validation of skills, as well as peer support, in order to improve their quality of life and their participation in society. They can also facilitate the coordination between carers, as well as between informal carers and health professionals, supporting the autonomy of the patient and the carers and the delivery of care at home.

It also allowed for the participation of external guests from the EU Commission and other EU civil society organisations about how EU policy and funding instruments can support initiatives developing ICT-based support for carers at local and national levels and what partnerships can help upscaling such innovations.

Access the event page with the speakers presentations here with the code 2019_EucSV

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) stakeholder network

On 20 September 2019, HOPE participated in the AMR stakeholder network meeting, led by the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA). The objective of the network is to contribute to discussions on Antimicrobial Resistance, an urgent cross-border threat to public health which can only be tackled through a multi-sectoral 'One Health' approach.

Following a joint Call to Action, the network seeks to build consensus on key priorities for the implementation of the EU One Health Action Plan on AMR, including advocating for more European leadership and increased support and resources for Member States to implement their AMR National Action Plans.

Cyber Security in the Healthcare Sector – event

HOPE will be speaking at the event on “Cyber Security in the Healthcare Sector” taking place on 9 October 2019 in Brussels.

The discussions will focus on current cyber security challenges in healthcare (for hospitals in particular), preparedness and training, and the role of the European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO) and other initiatives in building cyber resilience.

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The speakers & moderators are experts from the field, which include: Dr. Saif Abed, AbedGraham, Dr.-Ing. Tilman Frosch, G DATA Advanced Analytics GmbH, Prof. Paul Timmers, Oxford University, Formerly European Commission Digital Society, Trust & Cybersecurity.

The event is organised under the Finnish Presidency of the EU Council by Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JAMK), European Cyber Security Organisation (ECSO), Regional Council of Central Finland, West Finland European Office.

To register, you are kindly asked to follow this link. Should you have any questions, please contact directly: [email protected]

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EU 2019-2024: Health Champions Wanted!

9 October 2019, Brussels (Belgium)

HOPE will co-organise an event taking place at the European Parliament on 9 October 2019 and hosted by MEP Peter Liese (EPP, Germany) and MEP Sara Cerdas (S&D, Portugal).

This event is an initiative emanating from seven civil society organisations: HOPE, AIM (International Healthcare Payers Association), CED (Council of European Dentists), CPME (Standing Committee of European Doctors), PGEU (Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union), EMSA (European Medical Students' Association) and EuroHealthNet (European partnership for health, equity and well-being).

It aims at drawing new MEP’s attention on the main health-related challenges that the EU is facing, in the perspective of their new mandate for the period 2019-2024.

Regenerative Medicine: Scientific Advances and Regulatory Framework in Europe

27 November 2019, Brussels (Belgium)

HOPE is supporting the organisation of FEAM European Biomedical Policy Forum next workshop on “Regenerative Medicine: Scientific Advances and Regulatory Framework in Europe”.

The event will be held on 27 November 2019 in Brussels (Palace des Academies, Salle Roi Baudouin).

For more info about the workshop click here

Draft programme

Registration form

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ICIC20 – 20th International Conference on Integrated Care

27-29 April 2020, Šibenik (Croatia)

The International Foundation of Integrated Care (IFIC) in partnership with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia, the City of Zagreb, Health Center Zagreb – Centar, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, University of Zagreb, Libertas International University and the Catholic University of Croatia are bringing the 20th International Conference on Integrated Care (ICIC20) will take place in Amadria Park Convention Centre, Šibenik, Croatia from 27-29 April 2020. The conference will bring together researchers, clinicians and managers from around the world who are engaged in the design and delivery of integrated health and social care.

The scientific committee for this conference has been established from international experts who are leading n the field of integrated care policy and practice, and they are now accepting paper submissions on the science, knowledge and adoption of Integrated Care and specifically relating to the conference themes until 11 October 2019. The paper should take the form of an abstract of not more than 500 words. Abstract Submission Guidelines are available to download from the conference website.

All accepted abstracts will be published in the International Journal of Integrated Care (Impact Factor 2.489). Accepted abstract will appear in the programme as a formal oral presentation, workshop, oral poster or display poster, as deemed appropriate by the scientific committee. All accepted abstracts will compete for the annual IFIC Integrated Care Awards. Our International conference in San Sebastian last year received over 700 submissions so we advise that you take due consideration when submitting a paper to ensure you have the very best chance of success.

Registration: HOPE has secured a 10% discount for members. Please contact [email protected] for our discount code.

Event page

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HOPE Agora 2020

5-7 June 2020, Brussels (Belgium)

Every year since 1981 HOPE runs an exchange programme to promote the sharing of knowledge and expertise within Europe and to provide training and experience for hospital and healthcare professionals who are directly or indirectly involved in the management of European health care services and hospitals. It consists in a 4-week training period.

The HOPE Exchange Programme 2020 will start on 11 May and end on 7 June 2020. It will be concluded by the HOPE Agora 2020 that will take place on 5-7 June 2020 in Brussels (Belgium) around the topic “Using Evidence in Healthcare Management”.

More information

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