European Union directive gets the nod of Lords of medical travel

The EU directive on Cross Border Healthcare is making its way through the maze of the British Government. Slow progress, but it is progress towards a European market in healthcare.

The EU Committee of the House of Lords have welcomed the proposal for a directive of the European Commission on the rights of patients to healthcare. The Commission demanded improvements and warned that due to the impact of the provisions of Directive unpredictable, it must be carefully monitored in the implementation.

The Commission agreed with the Commission that, as the right of EU citizens to travel to another Member State to receive healthcare was confirmed by the European Court of Justice over the last ten years, it is essential to put in place a legal framework to replace the current ad hoc arrangements.

The Committee also considers whether patients seeking healthcare in other European, Member States shall pay the costs of treatment and then claim a refund later. They have concerns that this would prevent those without adequate financial means to take advantage of their right to health care. The Commission's report recommends that a health service provider of the patient must pay the fees directly to the supplier in another Member State and suggests that this could be related to the process of securing authorisation before the trip, which it considers necessary to protect the financial resources of health systems and to allow patients to make informed decisions about your treatment.

The report also urges Member States to ensure that patients are aware of their rights under the directive and are informed about the quality of care they can expect, any potential barriers of language and how to complain that should be necessary. Member States should provide information about health care abroad for its own citizens and shall prepare a description of your own health care system to guide the other Member States. Recognizing that it can fall for doctors, such as doctors and dentists, really provide the information to patients, the Committee argues that the directive should avoid imposing an administrative burden for health professionals.

The Commission has also called for greater clarity on systems repair when patients are unhappy with, or harmed by healthcare provided in another Member State.
The Committee welcomes the provision of the directive that a Member State would be able to refuse to accept a patient from another Member State if, for example, this would increase the waiting time for treatment. However, they recommend that this part of the directive would benefit from some reinforcement.

Finally, the Committee noted that the impact of the directive will only be clear after it was implemented and then recommend that it be reviewed within three years instead of five, as proposed by the Commission.

 

Health tourism increases the EU directive on cross border healthcare

After a delay of six months, was finally released the EU proposal for directive on patients ' rights in cross border healthcare. It provides an additional stimulus to the already growing number of medical tourists who seek hospital treatment in other EU countries. Its aim is to create a formal framework for crossing the border healthcare and remove obstacles that patients face if they wish to travel for treatment in other EU countries.

I'll try to answer some of the questions people are asking about this new directive and its impact.

Why do we need a directive on cross border health care?
The directive arose from a desire to create a European market in healthcare and in part as a result of the judgments of the European Court that have upheld the rights of patients to obtain reimbursement for treatment in other countries where they were subjected to "delay" in their own country.

What does it cover?
The directive proposes a series of events in cross border healthcare, including reimbursement of medical tourists, patient safety and quality issues, European cooperation on health, evaluation of new medical technologies and standards for health and patient information transfer between Member States.

How will it affect the UK NHS patients?
In April this year, was extended to choice of NHS patients in the United Kingdom, giving patients the right to opt for treatment anywhere in the United Kingdom. Directive, with effect, extends this patient choice anywhere in the EU, provided that the processing is available at a cost that is equal to or less than the NHS cost.

Under the directive, the NHS will be asked to establish a system for direct payment or reimbursement. This means that patients will not have to finance the treatment and then claim the cost of NHS. They will have to finance their travel and accommodation expenses. Without prior approval is required from NHS Trust or primary health care of the patient.

This does not mean that patients in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the European Union can choose to treatments abroad that are not covered by the NHS. Thus, if a new drug or a new procedure is available in another country, the patient cannot obtain payment for it.

How many patients will choose treatment abroad?
Who knows? Patients may decide to travel abroad because:

Surgeons and hospitals with the best results for your treatment may be available elsewhere in Europe. Hospital infection rates may be smaller in other European countries. Faster Treatment may be available elsewhere.

It is important to note that:

There is no requirement for the patient suffer "delay" in treatment. The patient will have a reference from a GP. Patients cannot skip waiting list in other countries .... which is one reason why don't we see large numbers of travelling to the United Kingdom for the treatment of patients. They will join the end of the existing UK patients queue. And since the United Kingdom is one of health care providers more expensive in Europe, this will also discourage an inflow of patients from countries with lower costs.

How will it affect the NHS?
Depends on how many patients UK opt for treatment abroad. If the NHS can prove that the number could be so great that could affect planning and financing of health care facilities in the United Kingdom, then it can make an application to set up a system of "prior approval" means that a patient would have to apply for treatment abroad. This is unlikely, I believe. Is an admission of failure of the Government that the NHS cannot compete in a competitive European market.

In general the directive has to be a good thing for NHS patients and United Kingdom. He could reduce burdens on NHS waiting lists and offer economy where the cheapest treatment is available in other EU countries. This would also mean that hospitals NHS would face increasing competition and would improve its performance relative to other health care providers in Europe.

What else is covered by the Directive?
In addition to clarify the position on medical tourism within the EU, the directive also covers:

The establishment of common principles in terms of ensuring patient safety and ensuring the quality and continuity of care. Stimulate greater European cooperation on healthcare including creating "Reference networks" that would create a concentration of knowledge, training and resources for specific diseases and health problems. Establishment of a European network for the assessment of new medical technology. Setting standards of health, in particular the transfer of information and treatment of patients between Member States.

When it comes into force?
Is a draft directive, therefore, has to pass through EU mechanisms to be officially adopted as policy. But it is a part of a consultation process that has been going on for three years, so it is likely to become reality.

Good news or bad news for the medical tourism industry?
Undoubtedly good news! It will add the credibility of medical tourism and will mean that people become more familiar with and confident traveling for treatment. It will also reinforce the need for an improvement in the standards and business practices in the industry. (See code of practice for medical tourism abroad of treatment).

Ultimately, it will result in a greater choice of patients and more people will choose to travel for treatment abroad.

For patients seeking treatment, now that can't wait until the directive enters into force, can download tab in treatment outside of medical tourism or visit the treatment abroad.

I hope about medical tourism Directive

Members of the European Union several committees vote this week if you want to make changes to the Community directive on cross-border healthcare. The directive aims to provide a framework for patient mobility, through which patients in a Member State shall be entitled to treatment in another State.

General Medical Council (GMC of United Kingdom), which regulates the country's medical 230000, is running a lobbying campaign to protect British seeking healthcare in Europe than he describes as "hazardous" doctors. the GMC wants the new Community legislation to give patients access to disciplinary history of clinical incompetent.

Quoted in the Guardian, Paul Philip, Deputy Chief Executive of the GMC says: "the vast majority of doctors do an excellent job in very difficult circumstances. However, when patients UK travel to continental Europe, there is a risk that they could be treated by a physician that do not fit to practise or not fully qualified to give the treatment needed. "

UK patients have full access to the records of the GMC and are able to verify that a physician has been disciplined, or is the subject of a disciplinary hearing. The GMC wants medical organisations in other countries to provide similar patients ' access to information about their doctors.

In the first nine months of 2008, the NHS UK paid for more than 500 British patients have treatment elsewhere in Europe. Some patients also were funded for their trusts of primary health care. It is estimated that another 80000 British funded its own treatment abroad.

EU-border Healthcare directive delayed

According to EurActiv, an independent media portal dedicated to EU Affairs, the EU health Directive across borders that you want to lift the restrictions on patients traveling to treatment in other EU countries could be redrafted, withdrawn or downgraded.

Directive EU cross-border health took a couple of years to develop and was scheduled to go public on 17 December 2007. Became the main UK news of the day (the EU had leaked early copies of the directive for the media). But at noon, the EU had decided not to publish the directive and announced a delay of 4 weeks or so in publication due to "schedule issues".

Methinks ... that some Governments, including the United Kingdom were not too happy about the implications of the directive and how it can put your own healthcare system in a bad light as they became "exporters" of patients.

EurActiv believes that the Commission was requested to recast the directive.

A representative of the Organization of stakeholders a doctor told EurActiv:

"This is a problem between the EU Member State rich and poor. Health care costs vary widely across the EU, therefore, would be easier for Rich Nations to reimburse cheaper care abroad than for poor countries to repay their nationals seeking care dear in the richest countries ".

According to a spokesman for the Commission, the proposal is still scheduled for publication in "early 2008".

EU-border Healthcare directive increases the health tourism

The new directive EU health across borders which should be announced today plans to lift the restrictions on patients traveling to treatment in other EU countries. Patients who wish to travel to other EU countries for medical treatment will be able to recover the cost of NHS treatments and will only have to pay their travel and accommodation costs, as well as any top-up fees if foreign hospitals charges are higher than the NHS cost.

The directive can revolutionize the way we experience healthcare in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. The directive takes the concept of choice of patients to a new level. Competition European hospitals could request changes very necessary within the NHS. Successive Governments of the United Kingdom made token gestures for introducing market forces within the NHS. the NHS ranked 17 of 29 European countries recent euro index of consumer health, now faces effective competition on the European market.

The directive will provide a framework for crossing the border healthcare and will deal with issues such as quality of care, patient safety, method of financing and transfer of patient information. There are also plans to introduce "European reference networks" that would gather medical expertise across Europe and encourage greater collaboaration between centres of excellence.