Harnessing the potential of cross-border care in the Baltic states and Finland

Senior decision-makers in the health sectors of Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania gathered in Tallinn, Estonia on 28–29 November 2013 to discuss a policy framework for cross-border care and health professional mobility.

This tenth edition of a Baltic policy dialogue series was hosted by the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs. Its objectives were to:

• assess the scope for increased cross-border cooperation and coordination at a sub-regional level, especially in monitoring as well as guiding movements of patients and professionals as a way to preserve and even strengthen access to safe, high-quality and efficient health care for all citizens;
• take stock of the implementation of the European Union (EU) cross-border care Directive (Directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border health care);
• review the current and future European Community framework for health professional mobility, i.e. the EU professional qualification Directive, in light of health workforce challenges as set by EU’s Green Paper on the European Workforce for Health and the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel;
• explore the implications of these new regulatory frameworks and their relevance for the Baltic Sea region;
• share experiences in addressing patient and professional mobility;
• discuss the support that can be provided by international institutions, such as WHO and the EU, including the scope for international knowledge sharing.

Background

WHO/Europe and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies have been jointly organizing the Baltic policy dialogue series since 2004. These annual subregional meetings provide ministers of health, their senior advisers and representatives from various health authorities and stakeholder organizations the opportunity to share experiences and best practice in health system reform as well as build cross-border links and networks.