The
issues of relevance for VPH are contained within the thematic priority relating
to Contributions to innovative,
efficient and sustainable health systems. The most pertinent points
referenced include the following:
- Funding -
Most importantly for VPH the Regulation places particular emphasis on the fact
that funding may be awarded to research and health institutions.
- E-Health -
The Programme aims to promote the voluntary uptake of health innovation and
e-Health by increasing coordination between patient registries and other
e-Health solutions. Moreover it aims to support cooperation on e-Health in the
EU, in particular on registries, and its uptake by health professionals. This
is of note given that enhanced input from those working on health and research
could lend itself to achieving VPHs goal of having greater focus on advanced
imaging technologies and computational software.
- Health data-
The further development of standardised health information and tools for
monitoring the collection and analysis of health data. This could ensure
advancements in personalized medicine through improving the current fragmented
connection of both biological and medical data.
- Horizon 2020Â -The Programme has as one of its objectives the need to facilitate the
uptake of the results streaming from research projects supported under the
Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research,
technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013) and, in the
long term, the activities which will be undertaken in the Framework Programme
for Research and Innovation (Horizon 2020).
- The
adoption of this Regulation officially establishes the third European Health Programme developed by the European
Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumers, commonly referred to
as the “Health for Growth”
Program. The Regulation contains the guidelines governing the implementation of
the Program during the 2014-2020 period, including its main objectives, its
budget and its funding lines.
Concerning
its broad objectives, the Regulation specifies four principal goals to be
attained through the prospective implementation of the Program:
- Promote health and prevent diseases,
- Protect citizens from cross-border health threats,
- Enhance health systems’ capacity building
- Facilitate citizens’ access to better healthcare.
In terms
of the final budget allocated to the Program’s implementation, the recently
adopted Regulation sets the financial package for the 2014-2020 period in €449,334 million. When providing
the main guidelines on how the funds will be assigned, the Regulation specifies
that funding could take the form of
grants or public procurement. Developing that specific issue, the
Regulation establishes that grants will
be awarded for pertinent projects co-financed by the competent Member-State’s
health authorities or by relevant public bodies, NGOs or private bodies,
being the latter exclusively understood as health institutions, research
centres and universities.
The
European Commission is to set the
different priority actions to be undertaken and include an indicative
allocation of financial resources to be provided for the realisation of
the aforementioned actions. The Member States will also have their part in the
implementation of the plan through the designation
of National Focal Points that will facilitate and promote the
coordination of initiatives in line with the Program’s objectives. Â
The full
Regulation can be accessed here.
