Brussels, 04/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - A report by the European Commission has given a positive assessment of the way in which the cross-border healthcare directive is being applied but makes the point that European citizens are still too often unaware of their rights.
Two years after directive 2011/24 came into full implementation it has contributed to shaping healthcare reform in many EU countries, improving transparency and patient mobility throughout the EU and enabling progress on health technology assessment, e-Health cooperation and European reference networks, says the Commission in a press release on Friday 4 September (see EUROPE 10325). Infringement proceedings remain open, nevertheless, against four countries, including Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovenia (see EUROPE 11164), for failure to fully transpose the European legislation.
“More still needs to be done to bring to reality the benefits of this Directive. Clearly European citizens' awareness about their right to choose healthcare in another EU country remains low. Less than two in 10 citizens feel they are informed about their rights in this area, and only one in 10 are aware of National Contact Points - offices set up under the Directive to provide information to patients on their rights and on quality and safety issues”, states the Commission.
This Commission report will form the basis of a discussion on the implementation of this Directive in the next informal Health Council on 24-25 September. (Mathieu Bion)