European doctors' summer magazine focuses on keeping health a top priority in Europe
Our President, Dr Christiaan Keijzer, opens the magazine by urging policy-makers to seize this opportunity to continue to deepen our collaboration for the health of all Europeans.
The editorial by Vice-President Dr Jacqueline Rossant-Lumbroso highlights how threats to the independence of the medical profession jeopardise the quality of patient care. She notes that trust between patients and doctors can only exist if the doctor’s autonomy is real, and doctors in Europe must be enabled to practice free from undue interference of administration, economy or insurances.
A report of a joint conference held with the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) contains our three conclusions on how Europe can act on shortages of healthcare professionals, medicines and medical devices.
We interviewed Laurent Muschel, Acting Director General of the new Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). He reflected on the lessons learned creating HERA during the COVID-19 pandemic and looks ahead to guarding Europe against future health threats such as mpox, avian influenza, antimicrobial resistance and climate-sensitive infectious diseases.
Prof. Dr. Bojana Beović, President of the Medical Chamber of Slovenia, provides a review of the CPME General Assembly held in Ljubljana in March. She highlights that industrial actions by medical doctors in Slovenia have been under increasingly strict regulations, and also reports the Chamber’s ongoing campaign to change Slovenian legislation to protect healthcare professionals against violence.
In a guest article, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies provide conclusions from a public debate that resulted in a collective call for the EU to play a more significant role in health. The Smoke Free Partnership urge for the implementation of delayed tobacco control measures in Europe's Beating Cancer Plan. The International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM) focus on harnessing the benefits of digital health literacy.
Finally, Sara Roda, CPME EU Senior Policy Adviser, explains why European Health Records must be designed in a way that supports healthcare professionals in their tasks and reduces administrative burden.