F6 FORUM
Organised by the International Forum Gastein. Sponsored by an unrestricted educational grant from MSD
Improving health system performance is on the political agenda in all countries. Member States are striving to build high performing health systems. But what is the EU’s contribution to health systems’ performance given that EU actions in many areas affect the health of Europe’s population and the performance of health systems? Our Forum convenes EHFG participants to discuss several of the building blocks of high performing health systems, such as measuring performance, the tools necessary to assess better outcomes and efficiency gains, the challenges of a functioning pharmaceutical market, the development of a health workforce, the evolving role of the European patient and finally the financing mechanisms that can sustain high performing health systems.
Opening keynote: Health system efficiency - Does the EU care? Does it dare?
Martin Seychell, Deputy Director-General, DG Health and Consumers, European Commission
Opening keynote: Cutting through the silos: Health system efficiency across EU policies
Peter C Smith, Imperial College, UK
European Core Health Indicators allow for monitoring and comparison, and serve as a basis for policymaking. Currently there are over 50 health indicators for which data is readily available and reasonably comparable. Do we use them for benchmarking? Are these the right indicators for performance measurement between countries? Should we measure against countries outside the EU? How does the EU and national measurements complement each other?
Speakers
Francesca Colombo, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Liisa-Maria Voipio Pulkki, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland
The EU has contributed considerably to the spread of HTA throughout Europe. Countries are learning from each other, platforms have been established and there is increasingly collaboration to be seen. This has, however, not let to a harmonization in HTA criteria and procedures, especially in terms of economic evaluation. Are these justifiable, context-dependent variations ensure a specific health care basket for all health systems? Or should we have rather common criteria and a common healthcare basket?
Speaker
Finn Boerlum Kristensen, EUnetHTA
From market access to parallel trade, the pharmaceutical market is highly regulated by European legislation and court rulings. But is the market working for efficiency? Are these national regimes competing for lower prices and eventually hurting access in low-income EU countries and stifling R&D investments? How can we promote the single market with 28 pricing regimes?
Speakers
Sabine Vogler, National Public Health Institute (Öbig), Austria
Dermot Glynn, Senior Policy Analyst, Europe Economics
Facilitation
Boris Azaïs, Director Public Policy Europe and Canada, MSD
Willy Palm, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies