Brussels, 15/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou presented the various objectives and measures planned under the draft directive on cross-border healthcare and patient mobility to representatives of various patient and healthcare professionals' groups on Thursday 11 September. The meeting, which took place at the European Parliament, was followed by a debate involving three MEPs. French socialist Bernadette Vergnaud explained that prior authorisation (which the patient's healthcare system should grant before he or she can receive care in another Member States) should be obligatory in order to avoid creating two different classes of patient. She also regrets the fact that the draft directive does not organise the free movement of healthcare professionals. In the view of German liberal Holger Krahmer, prior authorisation is a bureaucratic barrier which he would like to see removed. He is also opposed to the creation of reference centres (for the treatment of certain illnesses). He believes that such centres should not be chosen by Brussels, but rather should be born of healthy competition. Austrian Christian democrat Othmar Karas lent his support to the European Commission's proposal.
The second part of the debate introduced the healthcare professionals. Michael Wilks (Standing Committee of European Doctors) stressed the importance of the quality of information for cross-border healthcare and its spread among doctors and patients. He said that the definitions of hospital care and non-hospital care should be improved. Orlando Monteiro da Silva (Council of European Dentists) particularly stressed the involvement of professionals in setting quality standards. Anders Olauson (European Patients Forum) said he was very pleased with the proposal. He recalled that patients generally try to seek care as close to home as possible, but that they are willing to go further afield for serious illnesses and to other countries for rare conditions. He appealed for information which is comprehensible to and useful for patients. Mr Olauson believes that cooperation among available resources should be placed ahead of competition. Having emphasised quality care, he expressed a wish that the prior authorisation procedure should be as simple and rapid as possible. (O.J. /transl. fl)