On 20 July, the European Commission published an evaluative study on the implementation of the EU Directive 2011/24 on patients’ rights in cross-borders healthcare. The report, due by October 2018, was published well ahead the deadline, with the title “Study on cross-border healthcare: Empowering NCPs to help patients exercise their rights”.
The report points out that patients in Europe are still generally unaware of their rights and the possibility to access health services in other EU Member States, as well as of the existence of National Contact Points (NCPs) to help them exercise their rights under the Directive.
The aim of the study was to identify how to improve the current level of information on cross-border healthcare available to patients.The study found that although the information available to patients on NCP websites was adequate, the websites themselves need improvements, especially the sections on patients’ rights (for incoming patients), quality and safety standards (for incoming patients) and reimbursement of cross-border healthcare costs (for outgoing patients). However, compared to the results of the Evaluative study carried out in 2014, the NCPs have made significant progress in this area. While the study feeds into the upcoming implementation report on the operation of the Cross-border Healthcare Directive due this October, it will enhance the level of information provided and available to patients, empowering NCPs to be fit for purpose.
You can find here the final report ”Enhancing information provision to patients”, as well as the document “Member State Data on cross-border healthcare – Year 2016”: https://ec.europa.eu/health/cross_border_care/key_documents_en
