Statement June 2023 – MedTech Europe Urges for More Immediate Actions to Tackle AMR

Medical Technologies are a key part of the solution, now and in the future

 

The medical technology industry welcomes the proposal for Council Recommendations on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR){1} and the Parliament’s Motion for a Resolution to Combat AMR{2} . A coordinated European approach is vital to addressing this complex health challenge, and the medical technology industry is proud to play a key role in the fight against AMR – from prevention to control.

While the co-legislator’s recommendation and resolution are a step in the right direction, more can and needs to be done to tackle AMR now. Attention should be given to measures that prevent, detect, and manage infections and resistance. Medical technology tools and software that support such measures exist and, more importantly, are immediately available. MedTech Europe calls for a holistic approach that embraces and strengthens the role of such tools to combat AMR. We propose 5 concrete ways to do so:

  1. Beyond new antibiotics: The proposed Council Recommendations and the Parliament’s Motion for a Resolution focus primarily on the potential of new antibiotics to address AMR. This scope is too narrow. The clinical pipeline of novel antibiotics is a central component of the response to AMR, but it will take time until new medicines reach patients. In this critical waiting period, the role of medical technologies across the AMR pathway – from prevention to control – must be recognised and bolstered. At the same time, actions on research and innovation should be broader in scope and include medical technology solutions.
  2. Infection prevention & control: Prevention is key to protecting patients, communities, and health systems. Infection control must be reinforced by stricter adherence to clinical protocols. Clear KPIs must be set, regularly measured, and published to ensure commitment of all stakeholders in the fight against AMR. Prevention in out-of-hospital settings should also be highlighted, including primary care, where most antibiotics are prescribed, as well as dental practices, aesthetic medicine clinics and other community health facilities. Where there are patients and service users, we must incentivise and prioritise prevention.
  3. Surveillance: The role of surveillance should be emphasised, with stronger attention to screening and monitoring as part of a One Health approach. Use of diagnostic tests and clinical surveillance at single point of care should be stressed and adequately funded. Softwares can bring together data from various hospital systems, helping clinicians to monitor infection, detect pathogens, comply with reporting protocol, and prescribing practices. This contributes to good antimicrobial stewardship, supporting targeted and  timely interventions that improve patient outcomes.
  4. Diagnostic testing: Prudent prescribing decisions must be informed by diagnostic information; in hospital settings, identifying resistance that threatens patient safety must also be a focus. Molecular diagnostic testing can also indicate whether bacteria are drug resistant, thus supporting clinicians in selecting the right treatment. Prescribing decisions are made in a variety of health settings, including in primary care. Access to, and uptake of, diagnostics across the health system are essential to effective patient management and appropriate use of antibiotics.
  5. Integrated approaches: Shared solutions to the AMR challenge will require EU-wide, and international, collaboration. This will mean greater harmonisation between Member States’ national plans on AMR to ensure a common approach on what to measure and how to determine success.

The Council Recommendations and the Parliament’s Motion for a Resolution can be a catalyst for action. MedTech Europe calls on policymakers to take a broader, more balanced approach that leverages multi-stakeholder collaboration, and that harnesses the medical technology solutions that are already contributing to combatting this pressing health challenge as well as future medical innovations. In this urgent collective drive to combat AMR, we must use the technologies we have today, while investing in innovations that may deliver the solutions of tomorrow.


References:

  1. Proposal for a Council Recommendation on AMR
  2. European Parliament Resolution on EU action to combat antimicrobial resistance

 

About MedTech Europe

MedTech Europe is the European trade association for the medical technology industry including diagnostics, medical devices and digital health. Our members are national, European and multinational companies as well as a network of national medical technology associations who research, develop, manufacture, distribute and supply health-related technologies, services and solutions.
www.medtecheurope.org.

For more information, please contact:

Jessica Imbert
Director External Affairs
MedTech Europe
j.imbert@medtecheurope.org

 

Please find the attachment of the original statement below:

Statement – MedTech Europe Urges for More Immediate Actions to Tackle AMR

Save the date! PID Forum: Navigating the Complexities of the Pharmaceutical Legislation – 7 June

On 7 June 2023, the PID Forum titled “Navigating the Complexities of the Pharmaceutical Legislation”, organised by the International Patient Organisation for Primary Immunodeficiencies (IPOPI) in collaboration with MEP Billy Kelleher (Renew, Ireland), MEP Cyrus Engerer (S&D, Malta) and MEP Tomislav Sokol (EPP, Croatia), will take place at the European Parliament.

While the overall rare disease regulatory framework has underpinned strong progress in medical treatment over the past years, there are many areas in need of improvement to ensure EU citizens with rare diseases can access innovative and affordable medicines.

Join this exciting event to discuss how patient organisations can engage in a dialogue about the EU’s pharmaceutical legislation and how it could – and should – impact the lives of people with rare diseases who rely heavily on the availability of effective treatments to manage their conditions.

  • When: 7 June, 14:30 – 16:00
  • Where: European Parliament, ASP1E3

You can register for the event here.

 

For more information on the event and its participants, please contact leire@ipopi.org or you can visit IPOPI’s Twitter account here.

SAVE THE DATE | IDF Europe Hybrid Event – “Type 2 Diabetes: a preventable catastrophe?”

 

 

Despite the progress in understanding and treatment of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), the number of Europeans living with the condition continues to rise, causing unacceptably high numbers of premature deaths, equivalent to three jumbo jets crashing every single day. Today, 61 million people live with diabetes in Europe and this figure is expected to reach 66 million by 2030, with T2D accounting for about 90% of diabetes cases.

To raise awareness of the urgent need to adopt recent evidence-based recommendations in the management of T2D, IDF Europe is launching a new publication: “Type 2 Diabetes: a preventable catastrophe?”.

We invite you to join our panel of representatives from academia, healthcare professionals, people living with T2D, industry and policy makers to discuss why we urgently need to re-design our healthcare systems across Europe and remove the barriers that are preventing early and tight management of T2D and its associated risk factors.

 

Please click on the following link to find the full programme of the event and the registration link: https://events.euractiv.com/event/info/media-partnership-type-2-diabetes-a-preventable-catastrophe

Innovation procurement as a vehicle to address healthcare challenges

 

This sixth episode of EcoQUIP+’s procurement series for health managers will focus on innovations procured by healthcare providers to address existing healthcare challenges. In this webinar, our panellists Sofía Moreno Pérez (Procurement Coordinator for RITMOCORE project) and Ion Arrizabalaga Garde (Innovation Procurement Management and Coordination for AQuAS, coordinator of the RaDAR project) will discuss the role of public procurement of innovation in addressing current health challenges such as the treatment of patients using or in need of an implantable pacemaker and having effective infection control system for antimicrobial resistance. By drawing on examples of their respective projects, RITMOCORE and RaDAR, they will explain how to transition into outcome-based payments, and how to implement a value-based cross-border collaborative procurement.

RITMOCORE is a Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) project, funded by the European Union under Horizon2020, addressing the evolution in the treatment of patients using or in need of an implantable pacemaker (PM). RITMOCORE’s model addresses both problems of how to purchase more devices, and how to make the best use of clinicians’ time, while increasing quality of care and contributing to preserve long term sustainability of the healthcare system. It  shifts from purchasing devices to purchasing services, where payments are outcome based (thus distributing the risk between the parties), and where services are supported by advanced ICT systems.

RaDAR is a project co-funded by the COSME Programme of the European Union which aims to address the European urgent need of a rapid detection and effective infection control system for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This will be done through a Buyers Group, composed of four public procurement organisations, that will implement a value-based cross-border collaborative procurement of innovative solutions.

 

This webinar will take place on 16 May 2023 at 11:00 CET.

Please click on this link to register.

Health literacy: EU online training sessions

 

Active Citizenship Network (ACN) is pleased to invite you on March 14, 2023, from 14:30 to 17:00 to 2 new training seminars!

Implemented as part of two projects, “Improving health literacy for better public and patient involvement in mitigating COVID-19 pandemic using interactive and intuitive educational tools”  &  “Protecting the value of access to care during – and after – the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe: focus on antivirals”, the training sessions will be addressed to representatives of Civic and Patients’ Associations from across Europe. The events, which will be held in English, will provide a common set of up-to-date information, share experiences, identify lessons learned, and also obtain feedback from the associations.

There will be two separate sessions: 1) “Knowing and Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19” with these main topics:- Essential language and dangerous beliefs – Virus mutations, how they happen and what to expect – What should we expect (and not expect) from the anti-COVID-19 vaccine? – Antibiotic use in COVID-19, when is it appropriate? 2) “The value of access to care: focus on antivirals” on – Treatments and approved drugs: to whom and how? The role of antivirals – Complications of the disease, not only lungs. – Symptoms of “Long Covid,” how to identify it and what to do; Do vaccines have a role? –  Cancer prevention and screening: the great absentees in the pandemic.

Register here! 

EU Webinar – 31 January 2023 | “Therapeutic adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe”

Active Citizenship Network (ACN), is glad to invite you to the next EU Webinar: Therapeutic adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe: impact, experiences and perspectives from PAGs & relevant stakeholders which will be held on the 31st January 2023 from 14:30 – 16:00 CETRegister here! (registration is free but mandatory)

 

 

The initiative wishes to promote an EU policy dialogue on therapeutic adherence, with the aim to better contribute – starting from citizens’ and patients’ perspectives – to understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the therapeutic plans for chronic patients, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the actions and reactions implemented by PAGs and relevant stakeholders in front of the community of experts and Institutions.

The starting point will be the main data collected thanks to the survey carried out by Active Citizenship Network, EU branch of the Italian NGO Cittadinanzattiva, with the direct involvement of 38 PAGs across Europe. The data and the recommendations collected show the inadequate attention of the institutions and the main stakeholders in relation to access and continuity of care for non-Covid-19 patients, as better explained in the introductory article “Encouraging across Europe the civic & patient advocacy groups’ engagement in the implementation of National Resilience and Recovery Plans to reduce the burden of Covid-19 pandemic on NCDs patients’ therapeutic adherence”, drafted by Active Citizenship Network and published by the “International Journal of Epidemiology And Public Health Research” peer-reviewed journal.

The event is realized in the context of the homonymous multi-annual EU project “Therapeutic adherence during the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe: impact, experiences, and perspectives from PAGs & relevant stakeholders”, focused on socializing the common elements or specificities that the pandemic’s impact has had on therapeutic adherence and supporting the unmet needs of chronic patients.

For more information, please write to Bianca Ferraiolo, Head of the Representative Office to the EU at ACN: b.ferraiolo@cittadinanzattiva.it

REGISTER for the 2022 Thought Leader EHTEL Symposium: “European Health Data Space: Putting plans into practice”

 

The European Health Data Space has been a political ambition of the European Commission for some 2-3 years. In May 2022, it was published as a European Commission proposal for a Regulation.

The 2022 EHTEL Symposium draws on the association’s latest year of work and experiences on our continued journey towards Imagining 2029. It is part of our drive, in relation to the health data space, to bring clarity and predictability around how the EHDS implementation will affect a wide series of stakeholder types.

 

What to expect?

The event concentrates on practicalities. Look out for key topics like:

  • The electronic health record challenges when making real world data available for both primary and secondary use;
  • mHealth to enable the right of citizens to have easy, no-cost access to their own health data which can be shared as they wish;
  • The building blocks needed to facilitate cooperation on the use and re-use of real world data;
  • The societal data culture, and interoperability governance, needed to make the data space work well.

Take a look at the Programme for the two afternoons.

The EHTEL Symposium is a yearly event that brings together members of the European eHealth community to reflect on the latest trends in digital health. The event reflects stakeholders’ active engagement in innovating and deploying digital health for the benefit of health care systems.

 

When?

On 28-29 November 2022, experience two afternoons of seven in-depth sessions, presentations, debates, and networking opportunities.

 

How to attend?

Register for any, or all, of the sessions of your choice. Participation is free.

We look forward to having you with us on 28-29 November 2022!

SAVE THE DATE – 24 October – Securing Equitable Patient Access to Advanced Therapies across Europe

24 October – Securing Equitable Patient Access to Advanced Therapies across Europe

 

Active Citizenship is delighted to invite you to the event “Securing Equitable Patient Access to Advanced Therapies across Europe”

that will be held on October 24th, 2022 from 16:00 to 18:00 CEST in room JAN 6Q1 at the European Parliament in Brussels.

To attend the conference, please register here (registration is mandatory)

Kindly hosted by the Member of the European Parliament Tomislav Sokol (EPP group), co-chair of the MEPs Interest Group “European Patients’ Rights and Cross-border Healthcare”, the initiative is organized by Active Citizenship Network, the EU branch of Cittadinanzattiva, with the aim of contributing to provide a multi-stakeholder vision for equitable patient access to ATMPs.

Together with European institutions, academia, healthcare professionals, citizen organizations & Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs), the private sector and key stakeholders, we will discuss the disruptive aspects of ATMPs and pay attention to the opportunities and challenges of new advanced therapies, which are expected to increase significantly over the next decade: an encouraging but equally challenging scenario, considering the high costs and public budget constraints faced by several EU countries. Aspects that must be addressed today in order not to be unprepared tomorrow.

The starting point is that the traditional reimbursement and budgeting schemes are unable to amortize the value of ATMPs, whose costs and benefits are not aligned. These types of therapies need new and different payment and accounting methods, which take into account the high initial costs and the large and lasting benefits over time, both for the patients and for the national health systems. It is time for an institutional mindset change to classify ATMPs expenditure as an investment and not a cost.

How can European institutions facilitate this process? What decisions are taken at the level of each Member State to make these therapies accessible to the largest number of eligible patients? What role do PAGs play? On this occasion, the Call to Action “Advanced Therapies Medicinal Products revolution & the respect of the patients’ right to access to care”, so far endorsed by 37 PAGs, will be officially presented at European level.

The event is realized in the framework of the European activities organized by Cittadinanzattiva with the unconditional support of the #VITA – Value and Innovation of Advanced Therapies coalition, coordinated by the global law firm LS CUBE.

To know more:

If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact brussels@activecitizenship.net.

We look forward to welcoming you to our event!

Advancing nurses’ expertise on antimicrobial resistance

Ber Oomen, executive director of the European Specialist Nurses Organisation spoke to Health Europa about the organisation’s AMR, vaccination and infection prevention focus group and why greater policy support for the nursing workforce is needed.

Earlier this year, the International Nurses Day highlighted the urgent need to invest in the nursing workforce, advocating ‘Nurses: a voice to lead – invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health’ as its chosen theme. Nurses have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years, and while they have endeavoured to meet the ever-increasing demands of healthcare systems, staff shortages, overwhelming workloads, and a lack of protection for their wellbeing have threatened the resilience of the profession, putting both nurses and their patients at greater risk. Policy action is urgently needed to address the unmet needs, particularly in the face of future global health threats such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Building resilient healthcare systems is of particular importance in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Nurses are often working on the frontline, monitoring patients and endeavouring to treat – sometimes life-threatening – infections which means it is vital they are equipped with the right skills and knowledge, but also the resources to deliver the best possible care. With its aim of securing long-term strategies and policies to advance the professional development of nurses as well as health projects in Europe, the European Specialist Nurses Organisation (ESNO) created an AMR, vaccination and infection prevention focus group and launched a three-year programme to promote educational resources and develop a harmonised standard for antimicrobial resistance stewardship and infection prevention curricula. The group is due to meet in September this year in Brussels. To discuss the ESNO microbial focus group programme and its key objectives to future-proof nurses’ competencies on AMR, Health Europa spoke to the ESNO’s executive director, Ber Oomen.

How did the ESNO microbial focus group come to be formed and what are its key goals?

Firstly, the focus group has two key goals which are complementary to each other: quality assurance of health provision and care and securing the best professionals for the most relevant position. In 2017, a range of meetings took place in the European Parliament which called for greater focus on antimicrobial resistance, and concurrently, vaccination, infection prevention and sepsis. However, all of these topics were being addressed in silos with separately funded, long-term programmes. For each topic, the ESNO decided to initiate educational activities, but it soon became clear that these would not have the intended impact unless the material was integrated. Likewise, it was only when the COVID-19 pandemic struck that healthcare professionals began to take stock of the information we were providing and the importance of understanding the potential health threats associated with infections and antimicrobial resistance.

While creating the initial version of our educational guides on microbes and medication, vaccination, AMR, and infection prevention, we were contacted by some wonderful and dedicated healthcare professionals who we later met in Brussels. We subsequently created a committee under the ESNO, and this continues to grow. It is a collaborative approach whereby we bring key experts together to create educational material for the wider healthcare community.

Why is it important for the nursing workforce in particular to be fully trained in understanding optimal antibiotic use? What are the key barriers that can prevent nurses from engaging in stewardship programmes and promoting best practices for antibiotic use?

The complexity of systems requires resources, which we just do not have. Like many other healthcare professionals, nurses are working in high-pressured and often stressful environments, and need to be supported with continuous training and competence building. Continuous training and knowledge sharing are important when it comes to administering medication as well as monitoring patients’ conditions, but also for the use of digital tools. The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), algorithms and personalised medication, as mentioned in the European Pharmaceutical Strategy means nurses will be required to understand and use these systems accordingly to monitor therapeutics, for example.

We are already seeing new devices being used in clinics and on wards to support antimicrobial resistance mitigation, such as Rapid Microbes Detection and Testing equipment to shorten testing times for infection samples from days to hours. Where in the past, samples had to go to laboratories to be tested, specialist nurses are now trained to manage these systems on the ward in order to improve prescribing processes and find alternative interventions when appropriate.

Robust educational pathways are crucial to optimising patient monitoring and enable nurses to build their skill set in AMR and stewardship while giving them a greater sense of responsibility and autonomy.

How is the global shortage of nurses and other healthcare professionals impacting the management and mitigation of AMR?

The nursing workforce shortage impacts the overall health system, and the amount of time healthcare professionals can spend with patients. Similarly, the lack of nurses being recruited to replace those that have left the profession, means the current workforce carries an even greater burden. This fragmented system is detrimental to the quality-of-care nurses endeavour to provide.

When it comes to patient care, simple interactions such as holding a hand, eye contact and listening can make the greatest difference to someone’s experience in care, and their recovery. We should not underestimate the value of patient interaction, and the benefit it brings to those receiving care and the ones who are providing it.

Personal contact also creates an element of trust, which is important when providing medication and explaining any practicalities to the patient.

Today, medication systems are more innovative than ever but can also be more complex given the uptake in digital solutions. Similarly, the diversity of products– from injections and sprays to glass pill pots – only adds to this complexity.

What actions could national health regulatory bodies and policymakers take to better support the nursing workforce and their involvement in approaches to AMR?

Firstly, we need to encourage an open and transparent culture. With infections, the first and too often obvious instinct is medication – an infection killer and antimicrobial – and in some cases these are absolutely necessary such as in a case of acute blood sepsis. But overall, there are so many, and often under-explored interventions when dealing with infections, and equally not all infections are the same.

Robust evaluation methods, monitoring and selective interventions are needed, and all nurses should be equipped with the basic competencies to carry out these tasks effectively. Existing recommendations such as the ‘10 nurses’ rights’ on antibiotic administration and factors influencing their practices should be suitably acknowledged.

While we are encouraged to apply for European funding and use budgetary systems, it is incredibly difficult because of administrative quagmires and the time-consuming implications of programmes. We need flexibility and freedom in our activities; our long-term vision is that nurses are given more credibility than thus far experienced. Many members of the European Commission understand this and have shown interest in supporting our cause.

Today’s key challenge for policymakers and regulatory authorities is to reach a comprehensive level of AMR awareness and understand how the nursing workforce can be supported to actively manage this. The COVID pandemic was a wake-up call to the potential danger of infections and the need for robust, and long-term strategies to mitigate future health threats.

Click here for more information.

Antimicrobial Resistance can affect all of us, no matter if you are a patient or not

Author: Ilaria Galetti, Vice President GILS ODV – Gruppo Italiano per la Lotta alla Sclerodermia.

Milan, Spring 1996. I was studying at the University, in an ancient cloister, when I noticed the first sign of the disease that would be my unfriendly and undesired partner of my life: systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma. Systemic sclerosis is a rare, autoimmune, and very complex condition, that can affect the skin, lungs, heart, gastrointestinal tract, joints, and overall, the whole body. One medicine has been approved for its treatment, but only for lung fibrosis and nothing else.

Clinical practice guidelines recommend immunosuppressive therapies to lower the immune system, but no selective or personalised therapies are available. This means that the whole immune system is affected, exposing the body to many infections. The disease causes digital ulcers, very painful and often infected, that need to be treated with topic or systemic antibiotics. A swab should always be performed to use the right antibiotics.

Immunosuppressive therapies are still too generic, meaning that they inhibit the whole immune system, paving the way to several infections (mainly lung infections). This can be difficult to treat and can require hospitalisation. A careful evaluation of which antibiotics or specific treatments must be used, should always be performed, targeting the right bacteria, viruses, or fungi.

The last two and a half years have taught us many things regarding prevention that should become routine in our daily life. Prevention plays an extremely important role. Hand hygiene, the use of masks when meeting people with the flu, meeting people who are not perfectly healthy, and when going to the hospital for check-up visits or infusion therapies, should be a must for the so-called fragile patients and their families. The lower the risk of infections, the lower the need to use antibiotics.

Another important issue is the adherence to the prescribed therapy. In too many cases the antibiotic therapy is halted by the patient when symptoms and signs of the illness disappear. Prescribers and pharmacists should stress the importance of adhering to the therapy in order to get a full healing and prevent a relapse. On top of this, patients often spontaneously use the pills that remain in their stock, with a sort of self-prescription to cure “potential” infections diagnosed by themselves.

In my experience at national and European level I would encourage a programme on the correct use of antimicrobics in the wider community of connective tissue diseases. A few tips to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance:

  • Don’t take an antibiotic for a virus: antibiotics only work against bacteria; they are not useful to cure a simple flu.
  • Don’t save an antibiotic for the next time you get sick: you cannot know what kind of bacteria you have.
  • Take antibiotics exactly as prescribed. Don’t skip doses. The efficacy is not immediate, it requires 3 or 4 days or even more.
  • Never take an antibiotic prescribed for someone else. As above: you do not know the bacteria has infected you.

These recommendations can help save lives including your life and the lives of those close to you.

Delivering Value through Innovation in Diabetes Care Delivery

Delivering Value through Innovation in Diabetes Care Delivery

 

About 10% of adults live with diabetes in Europe. Despite advances in care, education, medication, tools and technologies, the diabetes prevalence continues to rise, more than one third of people living with diabetes (PWD) remain undiagnosed, and up to half the PwD do not achieve adequate blood glucose management. To highlight key innovative developments and ways in which the adoption of innovation can be promoted, IDF Europe is launching a new publication: Delivering Value through Innovation in Diabetes Care Delivery.

During the launch webinar of IDF Europe’s new publication, speakers from a variety of background will explore the innovative tools, technologies and approaches with the most potential to improve the quality of life and health outcomes of people living with diabetes; share their perspectives on the main challenges associated with the scaling up of these innovations; review examples where innovation has successfully been implemented and what the role of stakeholders in fostering adoption should be.

 The event will take place on 16 June, 13.00-14.30 CEST

 More information about the event and how to register: https://www.insulin100.eu/event-delivering-value-through-innovation-in-diabetes-care-delivery-16-06-2022/

Please let the HFE Secretariat know if you need any additional information.

EHMA to host executive workshop on value-based healthcare

EHMA to host executive workshop on value-based healthcare

On 10 May, from 14:00 to 18:00 CET, the European Health Management Association (EHMA) will be hosting an online workshop on value-based healthcare, ‘Everybody’s business: value-based healthcare’. This will be the last workshop in the series ‘The many avenues of health management’.

The workshop will dive deep into understanding what value-based healthcare is and how health authorities and industry can contribute to making it happen. Why should health systems and organisations drive the value-based revolution, and what should they do to make it a reality? From framing the agenda to steering the cultural shift, attendees will be made part of the journey toward value-based healthcare.

Agenda

14.00-15.30 SESSION 1 – The big picture: making your health system/organisation valuable

15.30-15.45 Coffee break

15.45-16.45 SESSION 2 – Value generation on the ‘shop floor’

16.45-17.00 Coffee break

17.00-18.00 SESSION 3 – How to implement the VBHC revolution: a practical approach

The workshop will be led by Prof Federico Lega, PhD, Full Professor of Health Administration at the Public Health Department at Milan University. Prof Lega will be joined by esteemed guest speakers who are experts in value-based healthcare.

To learn more about the workshop and register, please visit this link.

Register for the EHMA 2022 Annual Conference

Register for the EHMA 2022 Annual Conference

In collaboration with the Leuven Institute for Healthcare Policy, the European Health Management Association (EHMA) will be hosting its 27th Annual Conference on 15-17 June 2022 in Brussels, Belgium. The conference title ‘From people to systems: leadership for a sustainable future’ will explore challenges and solutions for creating sustainable health systems and ways health managers can lead towards them.

One of EHMA’s main areas of work has been maintaining a dialogue between researchers, policymakers, health managers and professionals, thereby facilitating evidence-based policy refinement and change. The EHMA 2022 Annual Conference is a unique occasion for health managers, researchers, and professionals to have their voice heard, connect with decision-makers, and collectively inform policymaking at the European level.

The conference is structured around four tracks that reflect the holistic practice of health management, and frame the lenses through which contemporary topics are analysed and discussed. The tracks are:

  • Governance and Leadership;
  • Management, Operations and Practice;
  • Finance and Economics; and
  • Policy and Regulations.

Five optional topics have been chosen to help steer the focus, they include: People-centred systems; Managing the digital transformation; Workforce of the future; Shaping sustainable systems, and; Improving healthcare access, delivery and outcomes.

You can register for the conference here.
You can view the conference programme and speakers here.

Webinar: Supporting ambitious Diabetes and CVD Roadmaps in the context of the ‘Healthier Together – EU NCD Initiative’

Webinar: Supporting ambitious Diabetes and CVD Roadmaps in the context of the ‘Healthier Together – EU NCD Initiative’

By Alina Chebes, International Diabetes Federation European Region

Ten years after a landmark European Parliament Motion for a Resolution on Diabetes, MEPs Mobilising for Diabetes’ co-chairs, MEPs Sirpa Pietikäinen and Christel Schaldemose, with support from the MEP Heart Group, invite you to a webinar on May 12 at 8.00-9.00 to explore the progress achieved on tackling diabetes and CVD in the last decade and how an ambitious ‘Healthier Together – EU Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Initiative’ can help achieve the many Resolution’s objectives that are still outstanding..

The Healthier Together Initiative was launched by the European Commission in December 2021. It aims to help Member States reduce the burden of major NCDs such as diabetes. Cardiovascular disease, for which diabetes is a key risk factor and which is also its leading cause of mortality, is also included in the initiative. A consensus document, described as a “toolkit to guide and coordinate action on NCDs” will be published by the Commission in June.

This initiative, which will be largely financed as part of the EU4Health programme, represents a major shift for the EC, which, until recently, had indicated that it would not support any disease-specific approaches other than cancer. The new vision is a unique opportunity to improve not only the prevention of diabetes and CVD but also the treatment, health outcomes and quality of life of the 32 million adults living with diabetes in the European Union.

Provisional Agenda:

Opening remarks

  • MEP Christel Schaldemose, MMD Co-Chair

Presentations

  • Status and the way forward for the EU NCD Initiative – Artur Furtado, Deputy Head of Unit, DG SANTE, European Commission
  • Improving diabetes care and quality of life: Priorities of the diabetes community (Joao-Filipe Raposo, Clinical Director at APDP – Diabetes Portugal and President of the Portuguese Society of Diabetology)
  • Improving CVD care and quality of life: Priorities of the CVD community (Martin Halle, President, Preventive Cardiology Association, European Society of Cardiology)

Panel discussion

  • Artur Furtado, Deputy Head of Unit, DG SANTE, European Commission
  • MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen, MMD Co-Chair
  • Charmaine Griffiths, President, European Heart Network
  • Chantal Mathieu, President, European Diabetes Forum
  • Niti Pall, Chair, International Diabetes Federation Europe

Closing remarks

  • MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen, MMD Co-Chair

The discussion will be moderated by Cajsa Linberg, IDF Europe Advisor.

You can register for the event here.

6 weeks to go until IPIC 5th Edition!

6 weeks to go until IPIC 5th Edition!

By Johan Prevot, International Patient Organisation for Primary Immunodeficiencies

IPOPI extends a warm invitation for all those wishing to participate in the next in-person International Primary Immunodeficiencies Congress – IPIC 5th Edition 27-29 April 2022 held in Vilamoura, Portugal.

Resume travel and meet up with world-renowned speakers and experts in the field, in addition to many other colleagues and stakeholders with an interest in PID/IEI.

Join hundreds of colleagues already registered: register here.

See the video of the conference here.

Screen4Rare & upcoming INSD 2022!

Screen4Rare & upcoming INSD 2022!

By Johan Prevot, International Patient Organisation for Primary Immunodeficiencies

International Patient Organisation for Primary Immunodeficiencies (IPOPI), International Society for Neonatal Screening (ISNS) and European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) are proud to announce the new Screen4Rare website! Screen4Rare (S4R) is a multi-stakeholder platform aiming to exchange knowledge and best practices on newborn screening (NBS) for rare diseases.

S4R advocates the importance of NBS as a key element to access to care. The group’s ultimate objective is, through policy engagement, to work towards ensuring that all babies can have equitable access to newborn screening; a life-saving tool for conditions such as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

S4R seeks to promote ‘The development of appropriate, well-organised and equitable newborn screening offered on a voluntary and informed basis to families to help identify well-defined treatable conditions where it is clear that their early asymptomatic detection and treatment during childhood results in significantly improved outcome.’

Learn more about the initiative’s goals and mission, recent NBS publications as well as upcoming events at www.screen4rare.org

Coming soon:

Exactly 4 months following the recent Rare Disease Day, Screen4Rare will celebrate International Neonatal Screening Day (INSD) on 28 June.

INSD aims to help raise awareness about the value of neonatal screening and encourage collaboration as a way of improving existing screening programmes and to take advantage of the latest scientific developments.

Stay tuned for upcoming details about the 2022 campaign.