EPF joins European Alliance for Value in Health
Today, EPF along with 10 associations form the European Alliance for Value in Health. The Alliance represents a broad group of European associations representing patients, scientific and professional societies, healthcare managers, hospitals, regional health authorities and life-science industries.
We are in a pivotal moment for European health systems, when the COVID-19 pandemic has put health systems under severe stress and added to the already existing pressures stemming from ageing populations and chronic diseases. Health systems are complex, often fragmented and heavy with legacy. To a great extent they are still operating on a logic from an older era, built around treating acute illness and disease, and have therefore been struggling to meet the needs coming from today’s demographic, societal and technological developments.
Despite the best intentions, patient outcomes can differ significantly depending on in which hospital or clinic the patient was treated, and also across countries despite similar levels of healthcare expenditure. Significant amounts of healthcare budgets are spent inefficiently, having little or no impact on patient health, and efficient solutions that could improve health systems are many times not implemented as they do not fit into the current model. As a result, patients’ lives and their quality of life may suffer, and limited health and social care resources are spent on managing unnecessary complications and low-value care.
During recent years, an important movement has been developing in Europe and globally to replace the old logic with a new one, centred around the outcomes that ultimately matter for people and patients and how these can be achieved with the best resource utilization for the system and society as a whole by innovating the delivery of care. Value-based healthcare, outcomes-based healthcare and people-centred health systems are all concepts that with some variation build on this theme. However, although a lot of progress has been made in different healthcare settings across Europe, implementation in most cases remain scattered and piece-meal, and there is still a lack of common understanding between health system actors on which principles should underpin the transformation to a value-based system.
For this reason, our 11 associations today form the European Alliance for Value in Health in order to CONNECT different stakeholders to CREATE conditions and INSPIRE others. Our vision for a value-based, sustainable and patient-centred health system is one where:
- Outcomes that matter to people and patients, as well as benefits valued by health systems and societies, are at the centre of decision-making;
- Interventions and services addressing prevention, social care and healthcare are organized in an integrated way around people and patients;
- Resources are allocated towards high value care and prevention, with outcomes and costs of care measured holistically;
- Continuous learning, education and healthcare improvement is based on evidence, and supported by data and insights;
- Innovative ways of care delivery are fostered;
- Financing models and payments reward value and outcomes.
We will work together towards this goal through building a common understanding of the enablers and barriers to transforming health systems in this direction, through sharing and spreading knowledge and best practices and through engaging with policy makers and stakeholders at European, regional and local levels. Among other things, the Alliance will:
- Issue joint opinions on current health policy topics or the specific elements and enablers of a value-based system;
- Bring together the members of our organisations to network and exchange views;
- Connect with other actors at European, national or local level that work towards the same goals;
- Provide a hub for news and knowledge.
Every European-level association that actively wants to contribute to the transformation towards value-based, sustainable and people-centred health systems, and are ready to commit to the Alliance’s vision and mission, can apply to join the Alliance.
Changing how health systems function and operate is not done overnight, but it is an imperative agenda for our societies and can only be achieved through working together. We are keen to get to work and to engage with all other actors that share our joint aspiration.
For more information about the European Alliance for Value in Health, please visit their website.