Joint action on chronic diseases approved
We are happy to announce that the European Commission has approved in principle a proposal for a Joint Action on Chronic Diseases, CHRODIS-JA. EPF will participate as an associate partner in this JA. We will now enter a negotiation phase and hope it will be ready to start in late 2013 or early 2014.
The Institute of Health Carlos III, the main public research entity in Spain, will lead the JA. It will create a platform for knowledge exchange, and methodologies for scaling-up and transferring good practices including on patients’ empowerment. The project will be structured around main thematic work packages:
- Prevention and health promotion activities
- Diabetes as a case study
- Innovative, cost-effective and patient-centred approaches to management of multiple chronic conditions
“We believe that the JA provides an opportunity to foster greater collaboration to tackle the challenge of chronic disease in Europe. This collaboration will be very complementary to EPF’s on-going policy work around the ‘reflection process on chronic diseases’ initiated by the European Commission and member states, to which we contributed a paper in 2012”, said Kaisa Immonen-Charalambous, Senior Policy Adviser.
Tackling chronic diseases and ensuring the future sustainability of European health systems will require greater investment in prevention and health promotion. It will also change the way healthcare is delivered. EPF believes these aspects form a continuum which needs to be addressed in a holistic way to reduce the disease burden and optimise the use of healthcare resources.
Patients with chronic diseases – many of whom have multiple conditions – are already largely responsible for the management of their own condition. We develop a unique experiential knowledge of what it means to live with a condition, how to manage it and its impact on their lives.
In future patients will be expected to take a much more proactive role in managing our health and care, becoming ultimately “co-producers” of health. To achieve this, there is a need to empower patients and citizens through health literacy, and to equip health professionals with the skills and attitudes to work in partnership with empowered patients.
For more information, please contact Kaisa Immonen-Charalambous, Senior Policy Adviser, at kaisa.immonen.charalambous@eu-patient.eu.