UEHP  
  Tuesday, 25th June 2019  
 
We are the future of care
In the past month, travelling from South to North and West to East, UEHP crossed Europe to participate to major National Federation Events. First in Paris, invited by FHP to attend the Paris Healthcare Week to debate with MEPs the future of Europe, then in Lisbon for the second Iberian Conference organized jointly by the Spanish and Portuguese Associations, ASPE and APHP, then in Kiel to participate at the BDPK meeting and at last in Bucharest for the UEHP Council Meeting.
In all these countries, we could perceive the same enthusiasm and willingness to offer new solutions, to include new strategies and to obtain the support of government, developing a modern culture of hospital management. The private sector is a real family who shares common goals. In all the places we were invited, we visited facilities showcasing the highest level of care. Robotic Cardio-surgery in Bucharest or best practices in PPPs in Lisbon. We are the future of care, and we are proud to support private implication and investment to make quality and innovative care available for all patients.
As an open platform for professionals, UEHP witnesses and shares positive initiatives and it is in a position to present its successful activities in Brussels. We will be your voice, and we are ready to work with the newly elected MEPs.
Europe renewal requires a very practical partnership with civil society, respecting and expressing the talent of a positive generation.
Dr Paul Garassus
President of UEHP
 
       
 
LATEST NEWS
UEHP
UEHP Council Meeting and Extraordinary General Assembly – Bucharest, 7 June
Last 7 June, UEHP held its Council meeting and Extraordinary General Assembly in Bucharest, kindly hosted by our Romanian member PALMED, Patronatul Furnizorilor de Servicii Medicale Private.
All UEHP members had the opportunity to learn more about PALMED's involvement in health policies in Romania and the role and importance of private hospitals in Romania, as well as Romania through numbers, with a focus on demographic trends, life expectancy, overall morbidity.
The participants also had the chance to meet and listen to Dr Marius FILIP – Head of Standards for Healthcare Services Unit, National Authority of Quality Management in Health (ANMCS). Dr Filip presented ANMCS and its activities, as well as the advancements of Romania in the field of ehealth, such as the Electronic Health Card, the Electronic Prescriptions and the Electronic Patients Dossier, which are all widespread in Romania.
The Extraordinary General Assembly took some important decisions for the Federation, among which:
  • appoval of Mr Oscar Gaspar, President of Associação Portuguesa de Hospitalização Privada (APHP), as new Board member;
  • approval of the candidature of the Cluster Lombardo Scienze della Vita, as Associate member. The Cluster is a non-profit association set up in 2015, prompted by Lombardy’s Regional Government. It brings together public and private players in the diagnostics, advanced therapies, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare technologies areas to foster progress in the life sciences sector in Lombardy, to facilitate internationalization, favour contamination and help create new business opportunities for its members.
In the afternoon, all UEHP members listened to the presentation of Prof. Marc Van Ranst, Professor of the University of Leuven, and chair of the ETS Scientific Panel on the ETS study on the different ways of hand drying in hospitals and their effectiveness. This very interesting and comprehensive study was highly appreciated by all attendees.
Then our President, Dr Garassus, presented a very interesting comparative study between big groups of acute care hospitals in France and Germany.
A dominant theme throughout all discussions of the day was the results of the EU elections in each country and new scenarios that will open in the coming weeks. This political moment is crucial for UEHP to make its voice heard and to build new partnerships and closer relations with the new MEPs.
As for the current and future activities, the most important are: active lobbying towards the new European Parliament and the new Commission (when in place in November); the cartography of private hospitals in Europe, an interactive map of private health facilities in EU Member States, which demonstrates with visual immediacy the irreplaceable role of our sector for the protection of citizens' health and the sustainability of European health systems; the new edition of the UEHP Factbook 2019. The main topics chosen by UEHP members for this second edition are efficiency, patient satisfaction and investment in the private sector.
The organization of other Master Classes is also foreseen, after the success of the first one on Risk Management with our correspondent member SHAM.
The meeting ended with the visit of the Monza Hospital, kindly organised for all UEHP members: https://www.spitalulmonza.ro/galerie-video/
The next UEHP Council Meeting will take place on 11 October 2019 in Hungary, in Budapest, kindly hosted by the Hungarian Association of Private Hospitals.
 
UEHP
UEHP retains its seat as Board member in Health First Europe
On Friday 21 June, UEHP Secretary General attended the Annual General Meeting of Health First Europe, a non-profit, independent alliance of patients, healthcare professionals, academics and industry aiming for improved healthcare through innovative solutions.
We have the pleasure to announce that UEHP has been relected as Board member within Health First Europe (HFE)! This longlasting professional relationship and commitment with the amazing HFE’s team has proved to be beneficial for both organisations in terms of knowledge, initiatives, projects, inputs, events and lobbying activities towards the European Institutions.
For the next mandate, HFE will focus on five main areas:
  • Health workforce of the future
  • Integrated care
  • Power of knowledge
  • Digital technologies to innovate healthcare systems
  • Patient safety
 
UEHP is ready to fully support the promising set of activities presented during the Annual General Meeting and make 2019 another important year for health policies in Europe.
 
UEHP
UEHP President speaks at HIMSS and Health 2.0 European Conference 2019
The European Union of Private Hospitals has been a supporting partner of HIMSS for years, as well as for this year’s HIMSS and Health 2.0 European Conference 2019, held in Helsinki on 11-13 June.
HIMSS - Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society is the largest health IT membership organisation in the world that encompasses more than 70,000 global individual members, 630 corporate members, and over 450 non-profit organizations.
UEHP recently signed a strategic collaboration with HIMSS through the HIMSS Partners Innovation Exchange programme. HIMSS Partners Innovation Exchange is an initiative that gathers strategic partners in a platform intended to promote a mutually beneficial collaboration for applicable benefits and services, including marketing cross-promotion, educational opportunities and membership.
In this context, UEHP was recognised among the most relevant stakeholders in the healthcare sector by HIMSS and attended the preparatory VIP Stakeholder meeting organised in January in preparation for the European Conference. UEHP obtained two speaking slots:
  • The Journey to Nursing Excellence focussing on Transformational Leadership and digitization (RKU University and Rehabilitation hospital Ulm, Germany)
  • Towards the virtual Hospital – Dr Paul Garassus
Our President, Dr Garassus, presented the new trends in the private hospital context in EU28, the key role of private investments in healthcare, the UEHP concept of Smart hospitals with new functions emerging and a connected patient who needs coordination of care throughout the whole journey, and the seven pillars of UEHP – the value for the future.
The session provided a closer look at the challenges associated with the mandate to move care to the community while continuing to provide high-quality care in the era of "doing more with less", and highlight innovative approaches and initiatives to ensure users and care providers don´t become casualties of these financial realities.
The event gathered top European healthcare stakeholders and was the place to be to discuss and learn about the latest innovation and trends in healthcare, the meeting point for the entire health ecosystem.
For more information about the conference please visit: https://www.himsseuropeconference.eu/helsinki/2019/collaboration
 
EU
EU Health Coalition calls upon the European Council to increase the total Horizon Europe budget to € 120 billion
On Wednesday 19 June, the EU Health Coalition published a joint statement calling for an increase of the overall Horizon Europe’s budget.
In fact, the statement was published ahead of the European Council meeting on 20-21 June, during which EU leaders had to discuss and adopt the EU's strategic agenda for 2019-2024. An important element on the agenda was the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) along with the Horizon Europe’s budget.
The BioMed Alliance coordinates the Research and Innovation Policy Group within the EU Health Coalition. The statement is built on the recommendations that the R&I Policy Group put together and presented at the EU Health Summit, organised in Brussels by the EU Health Coalition on 29 November 2018.
 
CROATIA
Croatia accepts ePrescriptions prescribed in Finland
From 17 June, Croatia accepts ePrescriptions from Finland: Finnish citizens can now travel to Croatia and retrieve their medicines in the pharmacies thanks to "My health @European Union", the electronic cross-border health services in Europe.
The electronic cross-border health service is an infrastructure ensuring the continuity of care for European citizens while they are travelling abroad in the EU. The following two health services are currently progressively introduced in all EU countries:
  • ePrescription (and eDispensation) allows EU citizens to obtain their medication in a pharmacy located in another EU country, thanks to the online transfer of their electronic prescription from their country of residence where they are affiliated, to their country of travel.
  • Patient Summary provides information on important health related aspects such as allergies, current medication, previous illness, surgeries, etc. It is meant to provide doctors with essential information in their own language concerning the patient, when the patient comes from another EU country and there may be a linguistic barrier.
By 2021, both services will gradually be implemented in 22 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Currently, the following exchanges are already operational:
  • Finland: ePrescriptions of outgoing travellers
  • Estonia: ePrescriptions of incoming travellers
  • Croatia: ePrescriptions of incoming travellers and outgoing travellers
 
UEHP
UEHP contributes to the Health First Europe’s paper and video campaign #Digital4Care
On 24 June, Health First Europe, officially launched its first paper on digital health, together with the video campaign #Digital4Care.
The paper on digital health reflects the vision of HFE members on the opportunities existing technologies can offer and the barriers to overcome for their implementation. The paper concludes with some concrete recommendations addressed to national and EU policymakers covering digital literacy, health care financial models, management strategies and patient empowerment.
As Board member of Health first Europe, UEHP actively contributed to this work and our President, Dr Garassus, was interviewed for the video campaign on the EU private hospitals’ view on digital health.
The paper is available here: http://bit.ly/2WY3RPu
The related video campaign, which gathers interviews covering the same scope as the paper, is available at the following links:
The paper and the video well reflect the common vision of all HFE members for the future of digital health and their joint calls to foster innovation for the benefits of the patients, professionals and health care systems.
 
EU
Call for applications for membership of the Expert Panel on Effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH)
The Expert Panel on Effective Ways of Investing in Health launched a call for application to select new members.
The Expert Panel is an interdisciplinary and independent group established by the European Commission to provide non-binding advice on matters related to effective, accessible and resilient health systems.
The areas of competence of the Expert Panel include, but are not limited to, primary care, hospital care, pharmaceuticals, research and development, disease prevention and health promotion, social protection, cross-border cooperation, health economics, eHealth and health education and literacy. More here: https://ec.europa.eu/health/expert_panel/about_en
Please find here the call for applications to select members of the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH): http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=calls.calls_for_app
 
EU
"The Europe of Doctors is a reality"
The European Working Group of Practitioners and Specialists in Free Practice, EANA, chaired by Dr. Philippe Boutin, comes together to bring out the best of European medicine.
"Cross-border medicine is very collaborative," explains Philippe Boutin, President of EANA. "In our meetings, there is an extraordinary dynamic of sharing and emulation between European practitioners. The need to exchange is huge. Indeed, despite great national disparities, the profession of doctor is the common denominator of these true Europeans, from Bratislava to Berlin. "There are differences in the education system, continuous and initial, in incomes and re-certification. There are also important demographic disparities. But overall, the medical profession is the same wherever it is practiced in Europe. The French system is doing pretty well by European standards. "But not in all areas! In terms of continuous education, for example, other countries are more successful. And the many specializations of French physicians are often cited. With 44 specialties, France holds the top place in Europe. "In many countries, nephrology, for example, is not a specialty but is integrated into internal medicine». For a better result? "The system is a bit more expensive, but surely a little more efficient too.
However, if a Europe of Doctors seems very much alive, a European health system is struggling to emerge. "We have to deal with juxtaposed and not necessarily unified health systems. On a large number of topics, there is still no real operational force. In the long run, this is likely to be harmful, especially on topics like artificial intelligence, which require collaboration. "AI will only work if we reach a critical mass of data. And this critical mass of data will only be obtainable when every doctor is personally involved. It is by drawing together every practitioner that will allow us to have a critical mass at the European level. On this subject, we are not only competing with the United States, but especially with China, which can very quickly obtain a very large amount of data. It is imperative that we have a European coalition to build artificial intelligence. "
 
       
 
MEMBER'S CORNER
AUSTRIA
International Nurses Day 2019 – 7,000 employees from Austrian private hospitals rewarded
This is today a tradition, the Austrian Association of Private Hospitals (Verband der Privatkrankenanstalten Österreichs ) expressed its warmest gratitude to the care employees of its hospital members on the occasion of the International Nurses Day 2019, on Mai 12. More than 7,000 employees received a little attention, a fragrant Swiss stone pine bag.
Légende photo : Klinik Diakonissen Linz
"This is a small gesture that is intended to express great appreciation for the tireless commitment during the whole year of the nursing staff in our hospitals", explains Laura Horvath, Managing Director of the Austrian Association of Private Hospitals." This action has taken place for the 5th year in a row.
The International Nurses Day is celebrated on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. "Even today, there is a great need for modernization in the nursing profession", says Horvath. "The work of care employees is becoming more and more demanding, while at the same time, more competent people are urgently needed due to the demographic evolution. The contribution the nursing staff make with their work to society cannot be overestimated !"
MAJOR EUROPEAN PRIVATE HOSPITAL GROUPS
GERMANY
„Sana Prevent“, a Custom made prevention
The German private hospital group Sana is expanding its range of services to include the new business area "Sana Prevent". Under this brand name, prevention centers providing individual services to corporate customers and private patients will open all over Germany. The first "Sana Prevent" centre opened in June 2019 in Berlin on the campus of the Sana Hospital Lichtenberg.
Quelle: Sana.de
"With Sana Prevent, we are not just extending our area of performance" declares Thomas Lemke, Chief Executive Officer of Sana Kliniken AG. "Our extensive medical expertise is also being used at an early stage to prevent illnesses rather than just fight them."
The investment in the area of ​​health care prevention is an important step in the strategic development of the company.
It responds to the growing demand for preventive medical services, not just from private individuals, "Companies are increasingly realizing that corporate health management pays off for both sides: employees benefit from a better health and the company from fewer absences."
The concept of Sana Prevent is specially tailored to companies and their employees. Corporate clients have the opportunity to set themselves a transparent budget for the medical examinations of their employees. Within this frame, employees can put together their own examination programme. Further investigations are possible at any time against additional payment from the participant. For added convenience, Sana Prevent centres don’t have a classic hospital atmosphere. "Our services take place in exclusive and modern premises, which are simultaneously connected to the Sana network ", says Dr. med. Jens Schick, Member of the Executive Board of Sana Kliniken AG (COO). "This way, Sana Prevent combines the medical expertise of Sana clinics with a high level of service."
Investigations according to the modular principle
The medical offer itself is specifically oriented to the needs of the participant. In order to be as individualized as possible, Sana Prevent applies the modular principle: additional comprehensive modules can flexibly be added to a comprehensive basic provision, which includes relevant examinations and consultations for all participants. "This ensures that each participant receives exactly what he/she needs right away," says Dr. med. Birgit Hildebrandt, Medical Director of Sana Prevent and prevention physician in Berlin.
The services include classic examinations, such as colorectal, skin and breast cancer screenings, but also lifestyle-oriented screenings, based on the latest findings, as for instance in stress medicine. "At the end of the day, our participants go home with their personal guide to remain healthy."
The first Sana Prevent location opened this week on the campus of Sana Hospital Lichtenberg in Berlin. "Berlin is the beginning; Our goal is to build a Germany-wide network that also offers our first-class medicine in the area of healthcare ​​prevention", says CEO Lemke. At least two more locations are to be added this year.
 
 
AGENDA
 
       
 
11 October 2019
Budapest
UEHP Council Meeting
 
 
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