Member News
ADDCA & ACN
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the European Patients’ Rights Day, Active Citizenship Network started a widespread campaign in 2016 in cooperation with some of the national patient associations involved in its network.
In Portugal, the campaign is carried out by Associação de Doentes de Dor Crónica dos Açores / Chronic Pain Patients Association of Azores.
About the Campaign
Framework
Patients want to access cross-border health services when treatment is not available in their home country when it is managed better elsewhere, or, as in the case of many border areas, when the nearest available care is in another Member State. Currently, cross-border healthcare accounts for approximately 1% of the overall EU public health spending – around €10 billion per year.
Objectives
The main aims of the communication campaign are:
- To improve the awareness of citizens and patients about their rights to go abroad for care.
- To build a network of patient/healthcare users’ organizations all around Europe, able to provide information and collect data on cross-border healthcare. Indeed, thanks to the identification of referent associations in each EU Member State, patients could contact a local patient/civic organization in case of need for advice or support during their stay abroad.
- To enable patient/healthcare users’ organizations, to easily contact their counterpart in another country to get specific information on the local healthcare system – with a focus on the implementation of patients’ rights – to help citizens.
- To contribute to collecting data about this issue
- To get in touch with National Contact Points and institutions accountable for cross-border healthcare management.
Campaign description by: Cittadinnanzativa (ACN)
