On September 30th 2008, the Commissioner for Health, Ms Androulla Vassiliou launched the 'Europe for Patients' campaign in Brussels. The campaign highlights the different health policy initiatives the Commission intends to adopt in the coming months. All these initiatives are bound by a common goal: better healthcare for all in Europe.

The aim of the campaign is to provide a simple entry-point to the often complex world of EU healthcare policies and actions. "This is much more than a communication campaign – I call it a campaign driven by policy. The aim is to provide a tangible and readily understandable communication framework for the many different healthcare policies that we plan to adopt and undertake", Commissioner Vassiliou said.

“Europe for Patients” focuses on several projects funded by the EU Public Health Programme. The Executive Agency for Health and Consumers supports a number of projects that address the topics under the Europe for Patients campaign – rare diseases, patient safety, organ donation and transplantation, cancer, and mental health.

Initiatives highlighted by “Europe for Patients” Campaign

• Cross-border healthcare: Rules for receiving cross-border healthcare and reimbursement of these costs are now not always clear or easy to understand. That is why the Commission adopted a proposal on July 2nd, 2008 for a legal instrument which will provide more clarity about possibilities to seek healthcare in another Member State. Initiative: Directive on the application of patients' rights in the cross-border healthcare.
• Rare diseases: The objective is to set out an overall Community strategy to support Member States in ensuring effective and efficient recognition, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care, and research for rare diseases in Europe. Initiative: Commission Communication and Council Recommendation on a European action in the field of rare diseases
• Health workforce: Progress on improving health and providing better access to healthcare for all cannot be made without a workforce of sufficient capacity and skills. The green paper raises the general issues and problems facing the workforce in health in the EU, suggests ways in which these issues may be addressed and poses a series of questions on which views are invited. Initiative: Green paper on the European Workforce for Health
• Patient Safety: Millions of EU patients are harmed by errors in healthcare, including from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) each year. The Commission will put forward a Communication and a proposal for a Council Recommendation on patient safety and quality of health services, addressing both general, systemic patient safety issues and specific measures to prevent and control HAIs. Initiative: Commission Communication and Council Recommendation on patient safety and quality of health services including the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections.
• Organ donation and transplantation: The Commission plans to propose a combination of initiatives. First, some basic safety and quality principles and measures in relation to the donation and procurement of human organs. Secondly, the Commission intends to propose an Action Plan with 10 priority actions to meet the challenges of organ donation and transplantation in the EU, through a mechanism that strengthens coordination between Member States. Initiatives: Proposal for a directive on setting standards of quality and safety of human organs intended for transplantation, an Action Plan on Organ Donation and Transplantation (2009-2015), and Strengthened Cooperation between Member States
• Cancer platform: The Commission aims to support the Member States in their efforts to tackle cancer by providing a framework for identifying and sharing information, capacity and expertise in cancer prevention and control, and by engaging relevant stakeholders across the European Union. Initiative: Action against cancer: European Platform
• Cancer Screening: Report on implementation of the Cancer Screening Recommendation of 2003. This is the first such report. Initiative: Report on implementation of the Cancer Screening Recommendation of 2003.
• Flu vaccination: The objective of the European Commission would be to increase the use of seasonal influenza vaccine, thus contributing to increasing manufacturing capacity. Initiative: Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on seasonal flu vaccination.
• Prudent use of antibiotics: The Council recommendation 2002/77/EC on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine requests from Member States and EEA countries to put in place specific strategies on prudent use of antimicrobial agents. Initiatives: 2nd report from the Commission on the implementation of the Council recommendation.; and European Antibiotic Awareness Day. The first-ever European Antibiotic Awareness Day will take place across Europe on November 18th 2008. Managed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Antibiotic Awareness Day will be an annual event that will raise awareness about the risks associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics and how to take antibiotics responsibly.
• Mental health: The European Pact which was launched at the High Level Conference on Mental Health and Well-being foresees to develop work under five priority headings: depression and suicide, mental health in youth and education, the workplace, older people, and stigma and social exclusion. Initiative: Conferences on priority areas from the mental health pact. This will be taken forward in close partnership with Member States and stakeholders, taking into account the relevant policy areas, such as youth and education, employment and social affairs, justice and research.
• Childhood vaccination: This initiative aims to establish a 'transit' immunisation schedule to facilitate a smooth transition from one national immunisation schedule to another and to seek a firm political commitment from Member States to step up efforts at increasing and maintaining a very high childhood vaccination coverage for priority diseases. Initiative: Council recommendation on cross-border aspects of childhood immunisation.

Further information and documents about the “Europe for Patients” campaign are available at the dedicated website which has been set up on the EU Health Portal. This will be the information hub where information about the Europe for Patients initiatives will be regularly up-dated, and where national and EU-level documents, articles and events will be posted in relation to the initiatives.