Riga Roadmap published – key recommendations for patients’ participation

The Riga Roadmap for action on sustainable, equitable and participatory health systems was published on 31 August 2015. This roadmap is a result of the high-level conference “Universal health: Investing in Health and Wellbeing for All”, which took place in Riga under the Latvian EU presidency on 29-30 June.

The conference was a collaboration between four stakeholder organisations: the European Patients’ Forum (EPF), the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), the European Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association (EGA) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). It follows the Vilnius Declaration of 2013, turning the principles of that declaration into concrete objectives. 

The roadmap calls on EU and national policymakers to develop health systems that are based on the fundamental values of solidarity and equity, and that embed the principles of prevention, promotion, protection and – importantly – participation.

Anders Olauson, EPF President, said: ”To deliver high-quality care that is equitable and sustainable, health systems need to shift from a disease-centred to a person-centred approach, where self-management, community and specialist medical care and social care are integrated in personalised solutions centred on the needs of patients. This implies changes at all levels in how care is structured and delivered, and it implies the full participation of patients – not only in their own care, but also in policy-making, in co-designing services, and in research to develop new therapies that meet patients’ needs more effectively. EPF and our member patient organisations across the EU are committed to playing our part in driving this transformation.”

At the conference itself, EPF played an active role through the contributions of Gunta Anca (SUSTENTO) who gave a presentation on the role of the patient in the treatment process; Stanimir Hasurdjiev (NPO) who presented the patient access partnership PACT; and Anders Olauson, who participated in the high-level panel discussions. Find the presentations from the Riga conference here and watch the videos from the event here.

For more information contact Kaisa Immonen-Charalambous, Senior Policy Adviser, kaisa.immonen.charalambous@eu-patient.eu