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Pharmacy Regulator Hosts European Patient Safety Meeting

Date: 09 March 2009

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), the pharmacy regulator, today hosted the Spring 2009 meeting of the Healthcare Professionals Crossing Borders (HPCB) initiative, which discussed patients’ rights and effective healthcare regulation in Europe.

The meeting was addressed by Minister for Health and Children, Ms Mary Harney, TD, who stated that she welcomed the opportunity which the draft Directive on Patients' Rights in Cross-border Healthcare gives for consideration of a draft legal framework which will clarify the rights and obligations of both patients and Member States in relation to cross-border healthcare. She said, "It is important however that the proposed Directive not only provides legal clarity, but also achieves a balance between the rights of the individual patient and the obligation on Member States to provide healthcare for all their citizens."

PSI President, Dr Bernard Leddy, told the meeting that it was important for healthcare professional regulators to get the fundamentals right because the confidence of the public in their healthcare professionals, as well as in their regulators, depends on it. “The citizens and patients of Europe deserve that their rights as well as their safety and wellbeing are protected and effective healthcare regulation is an important part of that protection,” said Dr Leddy. “It is essential that we have proper registration of healthcare professionals and service providers and that we have on our registers only those who are fit to practise or provide services. Also, greater collaboration and improved information exchange systems at European level are essential in the interests of patient safety.”

Other speakers at the meeting included John Lamont, Chief Executive of the Medical Council of Ireland, Dr John Jenkins of the UK General Medical Council and Ralph Hughes of the European Public Health Alliance, who all discussed the proposed EU directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare. The meeting was also addressed by Professor Charles Normand of Trinity College Dublin and the guest speaker was Dr John Hillery, Chair of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA), who addressed the international dimensions and challenges of topic of ensuring regulation in the public interest.

The meeting was attended by over 90 delegates, mainly from health professional regulatory bodies across Europe. Delegates also discussed the Portugal Agreement, an informal framework for European regulator collaboration agreed by HPCB members in 2007 and which comprises three specific strands of activity: identifying shared principles of regulation; transparent and accessible healthcare regulation; competence assurance of European healthcare professionals.

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