Jim Phillips, associate director and for EHFF and executive director for CEmPaC recently attended a conference on prevention in Bucharest, Romania.
The International Conference ” Prevention 360 +5″ is at its second edition and is organized under the auspices of the College of Pharmacists in Romania and of the College of Physicians in Romania, having as main theme the primary and the secondary prevention.
The theme of our presentation was on the “Role of the patient in the management of Chronic disease and Pain” Romania is currently ranked the lowest of all European health care systems in Europe and as such faces significant challenges, including the loss of many of its younger clinicians to the UK, and other affluent European countries.
This shortage combined with poor infrastructure has led to low expectations of care from both patients and health care professionals.
However one way to address this is through empowering patients to have a greater say and potentially working more collaboratively in decisions around how services are delivered.
They have piloted some self-management education programmes with training provided by Talking Health Taking Action. These where very well received. However there is a long way to go to reach a point where patients, health care professionals and policy maker’s are coproducing solutions. Yet this is the way towards sustainable health care stems. CEmPaC will be working with key players in Romania to help develop a coalition of interested parties to support change.
Jim Phillips
@CEmPaC_Eu