Belangrijke stappen voorwaards gezet op vergadering gezondheidsministers (en)

“We can free up millions of hospital beds and avoid millions of incorrect prescriptions. There is an enormous potential in eHealth”, said Minister for Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund at a press conference on the second day of the informal ministerial meeting in Jönköping on 7 July. Also taking part in the press conference were Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health Maria Larsson and Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, responsible for health issues at the European Commission.

What is known as ‘eHealth’ involves investment in modern IT systems in order to improve both patient safety and quality of care, as well as accessibility and efficiency within healthcare.

Besides eHealth, other issues on the agenda for the two days were antibiotic resistance, preparedness for pandemic influenza, patients’ rights when seeking healthcare in other EU countries, and prevention of alcohol related harm.

“There has been a very good atmosphere. Attendance has been much better than we could have hoped for”, commented Minister for Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund. “We have been able to clarify our agenda well.”

Antibiotic resistance on agenda on day one

Antibiotic resistance was one of the issues in focus on Monday. The issue has a prominent place for all three Presidencies in the three Presidency team. The French Presidency focused on rational use of antibiotics and the Czech Presidency on resistant bacteria as a threat to patient safety. The Swedish Presidency has emphasised the need to develop new effective antibiotics.

“As I see it, the need for new antibiotics is more urgent than any of us had previously realised”, said Minister for Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund.

Researcher Otto Cars, Professor at Uppsala University, also took part in the meeting. He spoke to the ministers and then to the gathered journalists about the problem of antibiotic resistance and its consequences, and on the need to develop new effective antibiotics.

Aiming to reach agreement at Council meeting in December

The Presidency has commissioned a report that will present proposals on how the development of new effective antibiotics can be encouraged. The Presidency is also arranging a conference for experts in September, focusing on finance options and other incentives for the development of effective antibiotics. The results from the report and the conference will, together with an analysis produced by the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, serve as a basis for discussion when the Council meets on 1 December. The Presidency’s ambition is that the Council will be able to adopt conclusions on stimulus measures for access to effective antibiotics at the meeting.

Another important issue that was discussed on Monday was preparedness for pandemic influenza and the spread of the ‘new influenza’. Read more about the issue in yesterday’s press release.

Follow up of EU alcohol strategy in the autumn

On Tuesday, prevention of alcohol related harm was on the agenda. In autumn 2006, the European Commission adopted a strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm in the EU, a strategy that the Member States have undertaken to implement at national level. This year, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumers will submit an initial status report on what has happened at EU and national level since the strategy was adopted.

This status report, together with the results of a conference of experts on alcohol and health, which the Presidency is arranging in September, will form a basis for the Council’s discussions. The Presidency’s ambition is that the Council shall adopt conclusions at its meeting in December to support the EU alcohol strategy.

“Long term, patient efforts are required to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol. The EU’s alcohol strategy is a good tool”, says Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health Maria Larsson. “We must ensure that the measures to counteract the harmful effects of alcohol remain high on the EU’s agenda.”

Ministers and young people evaluated alcohol marketing

An important item at the meeting was how alcohol marketing affects young people's drinking habits. The ministers were informed about the increase of binge drinking among young people in Europe and how, for example, the internet is used to spread messages about alcoholic drinks. Under EU rules, marketing targeted at young people is not allowed. To show how difficult it is to evaluate what is seen as attractive and how young people understand messages, the ministers and a group of young people were shown alcohol advertisements that had been reported to and examined by the branch's own supervisory body. The participants answered questions using an audience response system.

“It was a good exercise. I hope it will help the ministers in their decisions. For us, it was interesting”, said Oana Barbu from Romania, one of the young people who took part in the exercise.

There was strong agreement at the meeting that action was needed at both EU and national level to protect young people from marketing of alcohol.

To round off Tuesday’s programme, the ministers held a working lunch, where they took the opportunity to discuss patients’ rights when seeking healthcare in other EU countries. Last summer, the Commission presented a proposal for a directive that would aim to clarify the situation for patients who travel to other EU countries for healthcare. The European Commission and the Swedish Presidency want to reach a political agreement at the Council meeting in December. Both the Council and the European Parliament must agree for the new directive to come into force.

The meeting continues for another two days, but with labour market and social security issues on the agenda.