{"id":3946,"date":"2020-02-19T16:50:28","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T16:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsnewsforyou.com\/?p=3946"},"modified":"2020-02-19T16:50:28","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T16:50:28","slug":"romanias-7-presidency-priorities-on-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/?p=3946","title":{"rendered":"Romania&#8217;s 7 presidency priorities on health"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"art\"><figcaption>\n<p>A set of conclusions on how countries can work together to tackle antimicrobial resistance is the Romanian presidency&#039;s most likely win | Daniel Mihailescu\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<header>\n<h1>Romania&#8217;s 7 presidency priorities on health<\/h1>\n<p class=\"subhead\">The country is tasked with trying to wrap multiple tricky health files before May&#8217;s European election.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<footer class=\"meta\">\n<p>\n\t\t\tBy\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"vcard\">Katie Jennings<\/span>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"timestamp\"><time datetime=\"2019-01-03T14:55:29+00:00\">1\/3\/19, 2:55 PM CET<\/time><\/p>\n<p class=\"updated\">Updated <time datetime=\"2019-04-02T15:29:00+00:00\">4\/2\/19, 3:29 PM CET<\/time><\/p>\n<\/footer>\n<p>The to-do list facing Romania looks tough.<\/p>\n<p>The country took over the rotating presidency of the Council on January 1 and Health Minister Sorina Pintea said she is \u201cequally realistic and ambitious\u201d about what can be achieved on health issues in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRealistic because we understand that ours will be a transition presidency,\u201d Pintea told her fellow EU ministers at the\u00a0Health Council meeting\u00a0in December.<\/p>\n<p>With the European Parliament election in May, Romania faces a time crunch to make progress on a range of files that will otherwise likely go on hold until the new European Commission begins work this fall.<\/p>\n<p>Pintea said progress under Romania\u2019s watch will\u00a0\u201crely on a collective effort and a strong political will\u201d in both the Council and the Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>But countries\u2019 reluctance to see the EU intrude on national health systems will make it tough for Romania to break Council stalemates on several files, including plans for the EU to have a say on the value of medicines and new rules for manufacturing drugs under patent for export.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s POLITICO\u2019s guide to the health care issues to be tackled by the Romanian presidency and the chance of success for the legislative files.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Health technology assessment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>EU countries are heavily split over the Commission\u2019s proposal to join up assessments on the value of medicines.<\/p>\n<p>The major\u00a0impasse centers on whether national governments should be forced to use the results of the EU-level scientific assessments without conducting their own.<\/p>\n<p>A handful of countries with enough power to block the proposal, including France and Germany, are balking at the possibility of having to cede authority of their national health technology assessment (HTA) bodies. Other countries (and the Commission and Parliament) say the exercise would fail in its mission to eliminate duplication if it\u2019s not mandatory to consider the EU-level results.<\/p>\n<p>There was consensus among national officials\u00a0this time last year that if the Council couldn\u2019t decide on a common position from which to begin negotiations with Parliament during 2018, there was no chance of an agreement before the May election.<\/p>\n<p>Pintea said the Romanian presidency wants to \u201cmake as much headway as possible and reach a general approach,\u201d which would form the Council\u2019s position for talks with MEPs.<\/p>\n<p>The country\u2019s health attach\u00e9 Stefan Staicu said Romania\u2019s strategy on HTA will be to leave aside the political fight over mandatory uptake for now, and move forward with technical decisions. Romania\u2019s permanent representation has beefed up its technical capabilities by naming R\u0103zvan Prisada, vice president of the\u00a0College of Pharmacists,\u00a0as a second health attach\u00e9 focused on HTA.<\/p>\n<p><em>Romania\u2019s aim:<strong>\u00a0Council negotiating position<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Chance of success: <strong>Low<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Supplementary protection certificate waiver<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Brussels wants to allow\u00a0generics and biosimilar producers to manufacture medicines for export that are still under patent protection.\u00a0Countries\u00a0are divided over when that manufacturing waiver should enter into force and whether it would apply to existing supplementary protection certificate (SPC) rights.<\/p>\n<p>The Romanian government\u00a0showed its hand during the Health Council in July, when the country backed a call by Hungary to allow for a speedier application of the SPC waiver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur objective is\u00a0to work towards a reasonable compromise that would allow us to reach an agreement in the Council and get a mandate to start negotiations with the [European Parliament] in due time,\u201d spokesperson Raluca Anghel wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p>The Parliament is expected to vote on its position in committee in January, which would increase pressure on the Council to reach a negotiating position in the Competitiveness Council. The Commission and countries in favor of the waiver want it signed off before the election, but that outcome would require swift progress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are only a few meaningful weeks to conclude this file under the current legislative term. The Romanian presidency intends to make the best of this limited negotiating time,\u201d\u00a0Anghel said.<\/p>\n<p><em>Romania\u2019s aim:\u00a0<strong>Council negotiating position<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Chance of success: <strong>50\/50<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Antimicrobial resistance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If Romania walks away with one presidency win, it will most likely be a set of conclusions on how countries can work together to tackle antimicrobial resistance and associated infections. That document is tentatively scheduled for adoption at the Health Council on June 14.<\/p>\n<p>Romania will also host a ministerial conference in Bucharest on March 1 to discuss the issue, which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimates is killing up to 33,000 people a year. \u201cOne of the main objectives will be to advance a discussion on the common approach of the human, veterinary and environmental sectors,\u201d Pintea said.<\/p>\n<p>The main drivers of infections are the overprescription of stronger broad-spectrum antibiotics, as well as prophylactic antibiotics prescribed before a surgery. While the EU has adopted new rules designed to phase out prophylactic antibiotics in farm animals, any move to limit their use in humans is much trickier since prescribing rules are up to each individual country. It remains to be seen whether Romania can get EU countries to move beyond shared guidelines and agree to more stringent limits.<\/p>\n<p><em>Romania\u2019s aim:\u00a0<strong>Council conclusions<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Chance of success: <strong>High<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Access to medicines<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Romania \u201cwill continue the strategic debate in the Council on patient access to \u2026 affordable innovative medicines and therapies,\u201d Pintea said.<\/p>\n<p>The Austrian presidency in September put forward several ideas on how to rein in drug prices and improve access, with countries like the Netherlands expressing support for options such as a stricter time-limit for centrally authorized medicines to be available across the EU.<\/p>\n<p>Romania said it plans to put the issue of access on the agenda of its informal Health Council on April 14-15 in Bucharest for further discussion between ministers. That shows the issue has momentum but that more time is needed to firm up ideas.<\/p>\n<p>Romania will bring its own experiences to the table following the country\u2019s recent shortage of\u00a0immunoglobulins for treating autoimmune disease. Pintea said she particularly wants to address the issue of rare disease patients to help them gain access to \u201ctreatment available in other member states if that treatment is not available in their own [country].\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Romania\u2019s aim: <strong>Exchange of views<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Vaccines<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Romania will take up the mantle for efforts to get EU countries to boost vaccination rates. Under the Austrian Council presidency, health ministers agreed\u00a0to \u201cexamine the feasibility\u201d of aligning national vaccination schedules by 2020, in a Council recommendation that was watered down from the Commission\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n<p>The bar remains low, with Pintea pledging to assist \u201can exchange of best practices and expertise\u201d to move that forward.<\/p>\n<p>Romania is among the countries in Europe that\u2019s seen the highest number of measles cases over the past two years, driven by growing vaccine hesitancy.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Pintea piloted a door-to-door measles vaccination campaign with global health agencies that has seen success. The presidency plans to hold a workshop to share such ideas on May 9-10.<\/p>\n<p><em>Romania\u2019s aim:<strong>\u00a0Identify success stories<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>6. Cross-border health\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Pintea pledged to \u201cidentify better ways of implementing\u201d the EU\u2019s cross-border health care directive, which allows people to use medical services in other countries.<\/p>\n<p>There has been limited uptake and the biggest barrier is people\u2019s lack of awareness about their options, according to a\u00a0Commission report\u00a0in June that said national information points aren\u2019t effective. Health ministers will discuss \u201cways to better implement\u201d the directive at April\u2019s informal Health Council, Anghel said.<\/p>\n<p>Another focus will be to boost cooperation between countries in treating kids and teenagers with rare diseases, as the EU reviews its rules for both orphan and pediatric drugs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrphan drugs are often distributed unevenly or in quantities that don\u2019t cover patients\u2019 needs,\u201d Anghel said. The cross-border directive established European Reference Networks to connect rare disease patients with specialists across the EU, but there&#8217;s been difficulty integrating the initiative into national health systems.<\/p>\n<p><em>Romania\u2019s aim: <strong>Exchange of views<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>7. Digital health<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Digitizing patient records and making data widely available is contingent upon countries upgrading their systems. That leaves the EU in a mostly cheerleading role to espouse the benefits of investment in the right technology.<\/p>\n<p>Pintea said she will focus on the security of medical data, as well as \u201cbetter development of electronic registers of patients and medicines.\u201d The presidency will host a high-level e-health conference in Bucharest in June.<\/p>\n<p>The Commission plans in early 2019 to ask countries to commit to electronic health records, proposing a recommendation that would set\u00a0technical standards. But Romania could be short of time to see that through the Council.<\/p>\n<p>Anghel said Romania\u2019s goals in this area are \u201cstill under discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Romania\u2019s aim: <strong>Under discussion<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Sarah Wheaton contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<footer class=\"content-credits\">\n<h6>Authors:<\/h6>\n<dl class=\"vcard\">\n<dt class=\"credits-author\"><span class=\"vcard\">Katie Jennings<\/span>&nbsp;<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/footer>\n<p>Click Here: <a href='https:\/\/www.nrlshops.com\/rugby-Jerseys' title='cheap nrl jerseys'>cheap nrl jerseys<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A set of conclusions on how countries can work together to tackle antimicrobial resistance is the Romanian presidency&#039;s most likely win | Daniel Mihailescu\/AFP via Getty Images Romania&#8217;s 7 presidency priorities on health The country is tasked with trying to wrap multiple tricky health files before May&#8217;s European election. By Katie Jennings 1\/3\/19, 2:55 PM&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}