Public consultation for European health data space is open

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS). Stakeholders are encouraged to share their comments until the 26th of July. The purpose of the EHDS is to promote health-data exchange and support research on new preventive strategies, as well as on treatments, medicines, medical devices and outcomes. The public consultation focuses on the access to and use of health data for healthcare provision, research and innovation, policy-making and regulatory decision and on fostering a genuine single market for digital health services and products, including innovative ones. By participating, you can provide important insights, opinions and evidence to support the impact assessment accompanying the EHDS proposal on the problems to be tackled, the policy options to be considered and their likely impacts.

Commission proposes EU strategy for the development and availability of therapeutics

In May, the European Commission released its strategy on COVID-19 therapeutics which aims at supporting the development and availability of much-needed treatment options, including those for ‘long COVID-19'. The strategy covers the full lifecycle of medicines ranging from research, development over manufacturing to procurement and deployment.

The Strategy proposes clear actions and targets, including authorising three new therapeutics to treat COVID-19 by October 2021 and possibly two more by end of the year. By next month, the European Commission will draw up a portfolio of 10 potential COVID-19 therapeutics to identify the five most promising ones. It will organise matchmaking events for industrial actors involved in therapeutics to ensure enough production capacity and swift manufacturing. It is envisioned that new authorisations, rolling reviews and joint procurement contracts will be up and running before the end of the year.

WHO - Antimicrobial stewardship interventions guide

The WHO Regional Office for Europe has made available a guide focusing on antimicrobial stewardship programmes which have been identified as one of the core strategies to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The guide addresses administrators, healthcare leaders and front-line clinicians, particularly in low-resource settings.

AMR is a global public health emergency, but selecting the most appropriate interventions for each setting remains challenging. The WHO’s practical guide describes 10 commonly used stewardship interventions, which promote the optimal use of antimicrobials at healthcare facilities. Users will learn about the most common interventions, the evidence behind them, as well as important implementation considerations, particularly for low-resource settings.

Commission kicks-off the revision of the EU General pharmaceuticals legislation

As part of the EU Pharmaceuticals Strategy and drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission has started the process for the evaluation and revision of the EU’s general legislation on medicines for human use to ensure a future-proof and crisis-resistant medicines regulatory system. The inception impact assessment was open for comments until the 27th of April. The revision general pharmaceutical legislation (namely Directive 2001/83/EC and Regulation (EC) No 726/2004) will aim to ensure access to affordable medicines, foster innovation, including in areas of unmet medical need, improve the security of supply and adapt to new scientific and technological developments and reduce red tape.

European immunisation week!

From the 26th of April to the second of May, healthcare professionals, European institutions and other stakeholders celebrated European Immunisation Week (EWI) to raise awareness of the importance of immunisation in preventing diseases and protecting life. This year’s edition also focused on COVID-19 vaccines.

Leading up to EWI, EAHP shared via its social media accounts testimonials from different member countries that showcased how hospital pharmacists – as part of the vaccination team – are raising awareness about vaccine safety and are sharing clear information with citizens that have questions. They play a significant role in providing information to their fellow healthcare professional colleagues on vaccines, their development, differences and administration patterns and by that influence the perception of vaccines and their importance for combating diseases. Due to their training, hospital pharmacists are also able to guarantee the safe handling of vaccines and are in a position to support the traceability and vigilance of COVID-19 vaccines.

EIW was first implemented by a small number of countries in 2005. The goal was to increase vaccination coverage by raising awareness of every child’s need and right to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Since its initial realisation, EIW has become one of the most visible public health campaigns in the European region which includes all stakeholders ranging from public health institutes and healthcare professionals to policy- and decision-makers.

EU JAMRAI – learnings from the Joint Action

Earlier this year, the Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections (EU JAMRAI) concluded its work. Together with different stakeholder the initiative addressed the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from many different angles, including but not limited to stewardship teams, best practice sharing and surveillance.

Together with many other stakeholders, EAHP contributed to the activities of the Joint Action which have truly covered many aspects of AMR. Although the subject has been challenging EU JAMRAI delivered many useful outcomes including the AMR Symbol, the country-to-country assessments, the communication strategy, the Infection Control Strategy, the real-time surveillance network and the identification of research gaps. Many of the useful resources and recommendations, such as the policy briefs and the report with a full overview of the main outcomes and results of the EU-JAMRAI can be found on the website of the Joint action. Have a look at the documents and share those relevant for the work on AMR in your country with relevant stakeholders.

New report on improving access to healthcare

The European Commission published a report by the EU Expert Group on Health Systems Performance Assessment (HSPA) titled: Improving access to healthcare through more powerful measurement tools. The report shows how a better measurement framework can make an impact on a broader policy context through mitigating consequences of accumulated social, economic and health disadvantage.

In light of the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report looked at pre-existing barriers to healthcare access and explored how data gathered by authorities could be better utilised with the help of different tools whose full potential has not yet fully been explored. Tools that the report looked at included measures of equitable distribution of health benefits, patient vignettes, which have also been tested in pilots (covering mental, dental, stroke care) and tools that can be used at national level to better understand hurdles experienced by vulnerable groups. The conclusions emphasised that by putting the tools explored by the report into practice, measures could be refined and problems related to the accessibility of healthcare could be captured. Also, it was underlined that these tools have the potential to support health systems in improving health outcomes overall and targeting the most vulnerable groups which in turn would help health systems that mange to address these issues to become more resilient.