Abstract

The European Commission, after engaging in an open Consultation on the need for Community action on health services, proposed to adopt a draft Directive with an internal market legal basis on the Application of Patients’ Rights in Cross Border Health Care.

This draft Directive would provide some clarity about the rules to be applied for the reimbursement of health care provided in other Member States and how the rights of the patients would be implemented; reflecting principles applicable to non-hospital and hospital care respectively, respecting domestic practice of general practitioner referral. It would also clarify the criteria for procedures to be followed for cross border health care. Such procedures must be objectively justified, necessary and proportionate. The draft Directive would also require the establishment of mechanisms to provide information and assistance to patients through national contact points. It would be the responsibility of the Member State on whose territory the health services are provided to ensure that such provision accords to clear standards of quality and safety defined by that Member State in advance. Furthermore, patients would have to have a means of making complaints and obtaining redress should they suffer harm as a result of the health care they received.

The adoption of the draft Directive which was scheduled for 19 December 2007 was postponed until early 2008 because of ‘a series of open and controversial questions needing further discussion’. Since 7 February 2008, the proposed draft Directive has been withdrawn pending ‘further analysis’. It is the intention of this paper to examine the provisions of a leaked copy of the draft Directive, to pose some questions and to draw some conclusions.