Europe wants more cross-border services
The European Commission wants to remove obstacles that prevent the provision of a wide range of services, including health care services, throughout Europe, no matter where in the union those services are based.
A draft directive on services in the internal market, published in mid-January,
says that services should be available throughout the European Union,
subject only to the domestic laws of the country from which those services
are provided. It specifically prohibits the imposition by member states
of any
requirements to satisfy their own national
restrictions.
The proposed directive also seeks to clarify European case law which
requires national social security systems to reimburse the cost of medical
care in other member states. In the case of non-hospital services, this
means that patients must be reimbursed to the level of provision in their
home countries. Hospital care requires prior authorisation, but this
cannot be refused if treatment is not available locally within medically
justifiable time limits.
Colette McCreedy, head of practice at the National Pharmaceutical Association,
said that the NPA is trying to find out what effect, if any, the draft
directive could have on community pharmacy.
“We know they are going to include pharmacy services,” she
said. “Some
EU countries have more restrictions on pharmacy than the UK, so it may
be of more advantage to them.” |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal