{"id":8930,"date":"2017-10-03T14:40:19","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T12:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.efnweb.be\/?p=8930"},"modified":"2017-10-03T14:40:19","modified_gmt":"2017-10-03T12:40:19","slug":"european-commission-dg-sante-expert-panel-on-effective-ways-of-investing-in-health-sets-a-new-way-forward-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=8930","title":{"rendered":"European Commission, DG Sante Expert Panel on \u201cEffective Ways of Investing in Health\u201d sets a new way forward. Or not?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although the population is living longer, more people are living with co-morbidities, non-communicable diseases and needing complex care interventions. Building a sustainable health and social care service for future generations, therefore, implies bringing care back to the community and reorient policies towards primary care as it covers the complete life-cycle and includes long-term care services. In effect, primary care is an effective tool to reduce inequities in societies (De Maeseneer<\/a> et al., 2007).<\/p>\n

However, if the EU Member States are to succeed in developing primary care<\/a>, we need a whole system and mindset change at the policy, practice and education levels. There is an increasing evidence that interventions led by nurses can contribute to an improvement of patient outcomes, particularly linked to the early discharge schemes and to self-management, allowing patients<\/a> to stay longer at home. To allow nurses to further strengthen their role and to deliver safe and high-quality cost-effective patient care in the future, a change of both mindset and health systems is required.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, an old-fashioned way of thinking, the medical approach to primary care, is disastrous for any future development. As such, it is key to address the organisation of primary care and the human resources needed to support frontline, taking into account the central role played by the health professional workforce in influencing primary care outcomes<\/a>. The public hearing showed again stakeholders think for their own box: the IT community pushes for what we are discussing already in the last 15 years, the Pharma pushes for access to medicine, \u2026 everybody wants to have an impact on the recommendations. Even Hopkins and US IT push for their views to be incorporated in EU policies. Will this hearing lead to better EU policies?<\/p>\n

To turn primary care into a policy window opportunity, the EFN calls on the EU institutions to:<\/p>\n