EU – Baltic States, Health, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Medicine

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As the Lithuanian Minister of Health Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis pointed out in his opening speech, EU healthcare systems are facing fundamental challenges: shifting demographic situation, economic hardships and assimilation of new technologies. "So far the healthcare systems are surviving the changes", said Andriukaitis, "The fact is that EU citizens want their healthcare systems not simply to be there, but to ensure the highest level of protection possible".

According to Tonio Borg, the EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner, the Commission is ready to support the EU member states in preparation to deal with the challenges ahead.

"We have an opportunity to improve our healthcare systems. And improvement does not meant cutting services – it means reorganizing in a cost effective way. Optimization is not a cost – it is an investment", says the Commissioner Tonio Borg.

Professor of Economics and Management at IMT Fabio Pammolli stressed, that sustainable healthcare is closely linked to sustainability of public finances.

"There is an open question: how a shrinking and aging population is going to satisfy the increasing demand for financing healthcare", Fabio Pammolli asked during his presentation.

"How to squeeze more efficiency", asked Josep Figueras, Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and head of the WHO European Centre on Health Policy. During his speech, Joseph Figueras presented a 3 step proposal how to ensure, that healthcare system is truly sustainable: concentration on value based coverage, structural delivery reform and strengthening good governance.

During the discussions, delegates expressed agreement on common understanding of the situation. Member states recognised that although the statistics of EU healthcare systems are good and improving, every state has to understand the importance of issues ahead and work together in order to answer the challenges.