Today, the EFN attended a webinar organised by European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA). This webinar was an opportunity for the EFN to get informed on the Joint Statement that is being prepared under the 2019 Thematic Network Cycle. The Thematic Network Cycle is an initiative by the European Commission aimed at public health stakeholders. The purpose of a Thematic Network is to produce a Joint Statement within a year, summarising the common position of a group of stakeholder organisations on one of the 6 selected public health topics
The EFN has already attended events on this topic in the past, because of its utmost importance for the nursing community. Cross-border healthcare fosters patients’ rights, quality and safety as well as ensuring the continuity of patient care across countries. Nurses play a key role in fostering cross-border healthcare and healthcare innovators, and the EFN is representing them in these advancements.
Finally, cross-border healthcare would also be greatly enhanced if a cross-border system of Electronic Health Records was in place. Aiming to fill this gap, the EFN is working in two EU-funded projects: Smart4Health and InteropEHRate. These two have slightly different approached to reach the same goal: a system for Electronic Heath Records that could be used by all EU citizens/patients of the EU across all EU countries. The role of the EFN in these is representing the nurses as end-users.