On the 5th of May, Senior EU Policy Advisor Roberta Savli participated in the first meeting of the European Parliament Interest Group on Innovation in Health and Social Care, co-chaired by MEPs Marian Harkin (EPP, Ireland), Karin Kadenbach (S&D, Austria), Cristian-Silviu Busoi (EPP, Romania) and Kay Swinborne (ECR, UK). The secretariat of the group is held by Health First Europe.
This first breakfast meeting was focused on "Innovative Health Systems Reform: Meeting the needs of patients, carers and professionals" and participants had the opportunity to know more from representatives of the European Commission Directorate-Generals for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN). In the last years, healthcare expenditures have increased and there is an urgent need for this to become more efficient, innovative and resilient.
The spread of health technology assessment and electronic health was presented as one of the possible solutions, together with an increased integrated care and the development of a patient-centred system.