Global Pain News
7th European Patients' Rights Day on 16 May 2013
An international conference organized in Brussels focused on patients' rights
The Active Citizenship Network (ACN) allows individuals and groups of organized citizens to promote and verify the implementation of patients' rights. ACN thinks it is essential to increase the awareness of the importance of patients' rights and everyone's responsibilities in guarenteeing their implementation. The European Patient's Rights Day is therefore a unique occasion to inform, discuss and take commitments to improve patients' rights in Europe.
ACN decided to focus the conference on 16 May on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healtcare, because the EU has decided to dedicate 2013 to the European citizens and their rights. Goals of the EU are to increase citizens' awareness of their new rights resulting from the EU policies, and to stimulate their participation in the policy-making. Patients' rights are, for example free choice, right to information, right to qualitiy of care etc.
The targetgroup of this conference will be citizens and patients' organisations, health professionals (physicians, nurses, pharmacists) and national/regional health authorities.
For more information on the 7th European Patients' Rights Day, please have a look into the draft program.
Endorsers News
New campaign "Allianz Chronischer Schmerz Österreich"
Sign the signature campaign to support the Alliance's concerns
In austria an estimated 1.5 to 1.7 million people are dealing with chronic pain. The road to diagnoses is long and often not really effective, the therapy is cost-intensive and insufficient. EURAG Austria, the non-profit representative of the quality of life of older people in 33 stages, took the founding of Pain Alliance Europe (PAE), a European-wide organisation, as an example for the launch of the "Allianz Chronischer Schmerz Österreich" ("Alliance Chronic Pain Austria"). Meanwhile 34 self-help groups joined this initiative.
The alliance started a signature campaign on their new website, with the motto: "Together we are strong", everyone who signs this campaign (also possible per "click" on the website) shows that they support the concerns of the alliance:
- Recognize chronic pain als a disease on its own.
- Ensure a rapid diagnosis and effective treatment.
- Improve communicatoin between patients and doctors.
- Strengthen personal responsibility and competence of the patients.
For more informaiton and to sign the campaign, please visit the website of Allianz Chronischer Schmerz Österreich.
Platform News
Make-Over for SIP annual meeting!
New set-up: SIP 2013 Focus Groups
For 2013 the SIP Programme Committee came up with a new setup for the SIP annual event. After three SIP Symposia, name, structure and contents will change: this year there will be organized the first SIP 2013 Focus Groups: two days, two different groups, two distinct topics of interest!
During the last three years the European Federation of IASP Chapters (EFIC) and Grünenthal have organized three symposia on the Societal Impact of Pain (SIP) in Europe. Each symposium lasted two days and introduced different aspects of the management of chronic pain, such as "pain in the elderly", "future pain therapy" or "models of commissioning pain care".
This year the SIP Programme Committee has decided to organize two SIP Focus Groups, each one focusing on one particular topic. The Focus Groups are thereby closely following one of the seven goals of the "SIP - Road Map for Action", which was the key result of the SIP symposium 2011.
The SIP Focus Groups will take place on 14 and 15 May in Brussels. The location for Focus Group 1 is the Renaissance Hotel and for Focus Group 2 the European Parliament. Participants of the SIP Focus Groups are politicians and policy-makers, health care professionals, patient advocacy groups, representatives of health authorities or insurances, labor unions.
The aims for SIP are to raise awareness of the impact of chronic pain, to exchange information and share best-practices across the European Union and to develop and foster policy strategies and activities to improve pain care in Europe. The aim for the Focus Groups is to come up with "SIP Recommendations" and a "SIP Proposal for Action":
- The SIP Recommendations are developed for a European set of quality indicators for chronic non-malignant pain management, as being discussed in Focus Group 1.
- The SIP Proposal for Action, as discussed in Focus Group 2, will give national examples of rehabilitation and integrated care programs and proposals for concrete measures on European policy level.
More information you can find in the SIP 2013 Preliminary Programme.