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When? 17 February 2009 - 12.00-15.00
Where? Representation of the state of Baden-Württemberg
Rue Belliard 60-62, B-1040 Brussels
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READ THE FULL REPORT
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The Issue
Over the past decades, life expectancy has steadily increased in Europe and increased demand for healthcare. An ageing population and new possibilities for treatment have put national health systems in Europe under stress. Many countries are trying to control spending by rationing healthcare, for example by establishing waiting-lists or assessing the economic value per treatment and per additional year of life.
Patients facing long waiting times for treatment in their own countries or seeking better-quality treatments are by looking to neighbouring countries for healthcare. In the absence of agreed EU-wide rules, the European Court of Justice has repeatedly been asked to rule on the reimbursement of costs of treating patients outside their own countries.
The European Commission presented, last year, a proposal for a directive on the implementation of patients' rights to cross-border healthcare. The directive would clarify when patients travelling abroad for treatments will be reimbursed. It also proposes to harmonise the value-for-money assessment of new treatments. The issue of fair rationing of treatments is coming to the forefront of European politics, even though some member states insist that healthcare should be decided by national governments, not the EU.
What is a fair balance between the rights of individual patients and the sustainability of health systems?
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Final Programme
Moderation: Dr Phil Hammond
12:00 – 12:30 Registration & buffet lunch
12:30 – 12:35 Welcome by Richard Arnold, Head of the Representation of the State of Baden-Würtemberg to the European Union
12:35 – 13:05 Panel Discussion
- John Bowis MEP, EP rapporteur on the proposed directive on patients' rights to cross-border healthcare (confirmed)
- Alastair Kent, Director of the Genetic Interest Group (GIG) (confirmed)
- Dr Ad R. Schuurman, Head of Reimbursement Department at Dutch Health Care Insurance Board (CVZ), Chair of the Medecine Evaluation Committee (MEDEV) (confirmed)
- Pr Finn Børlum Kristensen, Project Leader at the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA), and Director of the Danish Agency of HTA (DACEHTA), National Board of Health (confirmed)
13:05 - 14:25 Debate with the audience
14:25 - 14:30 Conclusions from the moderator
14:30 – 15:00 Networking coffee & cake
EuropeanVoice, which has an established reputation for healtcare conferences, is now embarking on a new format. Confrontational and controversial, the 'EV health check debates' will air issues for the future of EU healthcare in an environment that encourages audience participation.
This 'EV health check debate' is supported by Novartis and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), and is organised in partnership with Burson Marsteller.
