First formal meeting of the Commission’s Expert Panel on Effective Ways on Investing in Health

On 11 July, a first formal meeting of the Commission Expert Panel onEffective Ways on Investing in Health took place. In her welcoming speech, Paola Testori-Coggi (DG SANCO, Director General) stressed that the independent advice produced by the Panel will be an important contribution to the on-going reflection processes on future of healthcare systems. Health Commissioner Tonio Borg underlined the importance of health in the social cohesion and economic recovery of the EU. Demographic changes and the economic realities require careful reflection on the future

of healthcare systems; there is a need for decisions which will ensure that healthcare remains sustainable, accessible and equitable for all EU citizens. He also stressed the Commission’s commitment to ‘catalyse’ developments in healthcare, taking the limited EU health competence into consideration. A short overview of the creation of the Panel, its mission, its operating principles (excellence, independence, confidentiality and multisectorial approach), and some of the challenges ahead were presented. 

The Panel will in the first instance focus on three mandates: 

• Criteria to identify priority areas when assessing the performance of health systems;
• Definition of a frame of reference in relation to primary care with a special emphasis on financing systems and referral  systems
• Assessment of the study 'Evaluation of public-private partnerships in health care delivery across EU'.

A working group was created to work on each mandate and their members were identified.

For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/health/expert_panel/index_en.htm