“EU integration and health systems: challenges and opportunities for patients, professionals and policy-makers” is the topic of the next the Observatory Venice Summer School.  The Observatory Venice Summer School brings together high-level policy-makers in a stimulating environment. It is organized by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and one of its partners, the Veneto Region of Italy. It draws on their experiences of promoting evidence-based policy-making and of providing a unique platform for European health policy debate in action.

This six-day course combines a core of formal teaching with a participative approach involving short presentations drawing on the experience of the participants, panel discussions and group work. The aim is to raise key issues, share and learn from each others’ experiences and insights as well as to build networks. The Summer School will rely on a combination of scientific studies on these subjects presented by academic experts as well as practical experience and insights from professionals with longstanding work experience in these fields.

The Summer School 2010 will look at the growing influence of European integration and regulation on health systems, and the practical opportunities and challenges that this creates for patients, professionals and policy-makers. It will explore different EU policy fields to identify links with health and assess their impact on health systems. The course will distinguish between policies that ‘directly’ and ‘indirectly’ relate to health policy, e.g. patient rights, cross-border care and patient mobility; professional education and movement; pharmaceutical licensing and evaluation; procurement of goods and services.

The Summer School will focus on the implications for patients, professionals and policy-makers, and will also address the EU institutional framework, the process of policy development, the linkages with national and regional levels as well as the influence exerted by stakeholder and interest groups, following the approval of the Lisbon Treaty. The main aim is to identify key issues where the EU creates challenges for national and regional health systems; share participants’ insights (whether they are health professionals, policy makers or analysts), and build contacts and networks to help respond.

More information:
http://www.observatorysummerschool.org/

On 8 and 9 September 2010 takes place the second international symposium on hospital procurement, organised by PG Promotion in partnership with ASSIAPS (International association for hospital buyers), ASFAH (French association of hospital buyers) and HOPE.

Focused on the central theme of “creating value with hospital procurement”, this symposium is an opportunity for the 400 expected participants to find out the latest news on current events, challenges and prospects of changes to procurement within the healthcare sector, whether public or private.

This event will give the opportunity, not only to tackle many issues, but also to make contact and hold discussions with many key players within procurement, hailing from various countries and with different professional backgrounds: Chief executives, purchasers, pharmacists, biomedical engineers, computing, works, organisation, catering and logistics, doctors, etc.

More information:
http://www.acheteurs-hospitaliers.com/index.asp

Gesundheitsstadt Berlin (Health City Berlin) is organizing the European Forum on Oncology in Berlin on 28th and 29th October 2010.

The forum is a platform to share valuable information on research and treatment projects in Europe, in order to improve the quality of European research and health care in oncology. It will be attended by more than 250 health experts, representatives of politics, research, medicine and industry, especially from Germany, France, England, Italy and Spain.

The topics that will be presented at the conference are related to “Cancer in Europe – Challenges and Outlook”,  “Challenges of Cancer Therapy in Germany Oncology in the Health Policy Arena”, Oncology in the Health Policy Arena and Research, and should end by a Memorandum on „Prospects for cancer therapy in the EU”.

The event will be also attended by high representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research from Germany.

The EU initiative “European Partnership for Action Against Cancer” will be presented by Mrs. Mojca Gruntar Činč, M.D. Director General from the Slovene Ministry of Health, as the future lead partner of this joint action. The programme of the Forum should be soon available at the Forum website.

More information:
http://www.forum-onkologie.eu/index.php?id=381&L=2