#EAPM - Update: Nordics to the fore, as well as some new faces

And staying up north, the Alliance was in Finland last week, the capital Helsinki to be precise, with Horgan addressing an EHA session on future proofing healthcare at the 2019 HIMSS/Health 2.0 conference. It was an ideal fore-runner to today’s gathering in Gothenburg, as genetics and haematology are key areas for the Alliance.

HIMSS, of course, boasts knowledge, expertise and thought leadership in healthcare digitisation, while Health 2.0’s network of entrepreneurs and investors, showcasing the latest cutting edge and innovative health tech solutions.

The Future Proofing Healthcare: Sustainability Health Index session on last Thursday (13 June) introducedthe index, launched by Roche and an Expert panel,which gives a unique view of the current status of the 28 European healthcare systems based on the largest data set of its kind. 

Fake news, black is white, an apple is a pear… Say what you like but facts are facts.Certainly in the field of health care, or people die.

So what Europe has to do, with all its undoubted brilliance in research, is to bring innovation into healthcare systems based on proof, on a knowledge of efficacy, and on safety, and on an understanding of value (certainly from the perspective of the patient).

The Index has found that Northern European countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland and Germany are currently leading the way with the most sustainable health-care systems, but also highlights major regional disparities across Europe with Eastern European countries coming in at the lower end of the index. 

The objective of the initiative is to promote accessibility of data for policy-making. As long term sustainability can only be achieved when decisions are driven by evidence, this panel will discuss how data can be used to future-proof healthcare across Europe.

It was good timing, too, as last Friday (14 June) was World Blood Donor Day, which helped to highlight the fact that EHA’s Scientific Working Group on Transfusion Medicine is actively focusing on improving and aligning transfusion practice in Europe, also helping to set good standards for donation. 

Well, it’s in their blood you know.

Meanwhile, back in Brussels…

As well as travelling to Sweden this week, EAPM will return swiftly to the Belgian capital with two further roundtables coming right up. These commence on 19 June, with MEPs in the Parliament’s Members Salon, to enable all present - deputies old and new - to gain a better understanding of the issues involved in personalised healthcare. 

A second, technically minded roundtable, with Member State representatives on Real World Evidence and HTA ,will take place the day after (20 June),and be structured around an initial framework-setter, followed by various case examples. 

A vital part of EAPM’s role has always been engagement with EU health attachés and MEPs, as well as continuous involvement in ongoing discussions in our arena. 

Health Council news

The EU’s health ministers were also gathering last week (Friday in Luxembourg) for their first official meeting of 2019, (maybe they need to get out more?). 

Not surprisingly the long-running debate on the Commission’s proposals to boost EU-wide HTA was a topic - but only in the sense that the Romanian Presidency presented a progress report.

That won’t have taken long then…

While speaking, Romanian Health Minister Sorina Pintea wished incoming EU President Finland good luck with it all.

As also expected in Luxembourg, the Commission said it’s not planning new legislation to give pharmaceutical companiesincentives to come up with new antibiotics, but some countries are not overly happy about that.

These include the UK,Luxembourg and Malta, who definitely do want incentives in the case of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The meeting was reminded that Denmark is working with the World Bank to establish an international research centre for global solutions on AMR, while the Netherlands is holding an international ministerial conference to see what’s been achieved on AMR in the past five years.

Meanwhile, those troublesome medical devices regs, which enter into force in less than a year, prompted Germany’s high-profile Health Minister Jens Spahn to ask the Commission for “a longer grace period for certain products”.

The EU’s Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis hummed-and-hawed for a bit… Actually, he didn’t. He just gave an unequivocal ‘no’.

Also up for discussion were East-West divisions over EU funds as the health chiefs talked about how best to use existing and future EU funds to invest in health systems.

Hungary and Bulgaria wanted a hands-off approach from the Commission when it comes to setting priorities, but Germany gave a large hint that such guidance is important.

Dutch Health Minister Bruno Bruins said: “Access to innovative and affordable medicines, fighting AMR via a one health approach and digital health.”

And finally, back to the incoming Finnish presidency… A week into her new job as the country’s health minister, Krista Kiuru told listeners that the economy of wellbeing will be the overarching theme, adding that Finland will also work to “strengthen the influence of the EU as a leader in global health, promoting our European values and protecting multilateralism”.

Helsinki plans to launch a long-term project that will last for six consecutive Council presidencies.

Another new kid on the block at the Health Council meeting was Estonia’s social affairs minister, the 30-year-old Tanel Kiik.

Is it just us, or are politicians looking younger these days? Good luck to them both!