The EU still has a lot to do regarding MS services #MSBlog #MSResearch
"The following is my talk from the 2nd Pan-European multi-stakeholder colloquium this weekend. One of the calls to action was to create centres of excellence and to use these as change agents. I made a plea that a much better solution would be to create 'EU MS quality standards of care' with the necessary 'audit tools' and 'league tables' to stimulate investment in 'networks of care' and to create the necessary 'incentives to improve care'. It is clear to me that MSers prefer to be treated locally than to necessarily travel to 'Centres of excellence'. Centres of excellence, where they exist could provide the expertise to help the network achieve the necessary standards of care. The other big issue we focused on was education. I think this is the change agent; in particular the educated MSer. If you know what standard of care to expect and you know a lot about MS you won't be prepared to have a substandard of care. You could also be a position to lobby your politicians for more resources. The latter is a big issue; MS is simply not high enough up the 'political agenda'."
"The full programme is online. The meeting focused on accelerating adoption of innovation for better care. Different working groups explored potential solutions to address the following key questions:
1. How to stimulate innovation in MS?
2. The roadmap for adopting innovation in biomarkers in MS?
3. The roadmap for creating access to specialized care & patient activation in MS?
4. Can market authorization (MA) policies and HTA drive access & innovation in MS?
5. Creating affordable care for chronic diseases: is MS different?
The outputs from the meeting will hopefully stimulate debate and commitment from politicians to shape EU health policy in relation to MS. The document below is the output of last year's meeting; a call to action."