Topic: Health now! Responding to the challenges of today
Organised by the FIP Congress Programme Committee, in collaboration with the FIP Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences for the Høst Madsen Medal
Patients’ access to health care is a key priority for most countries. Health equity can be seen as part of our core values: access to health care is a basic human right and one of the fundamental principles of most health systems, together with safety, quality and equity. Regrettably, this is not a reality for all.
Chronic diseases are seen as a sustainability challenge with which our health systems are struggling to cope with financially. From a patient’s perspective, the health systems often do not meet the need of patients with chronic conditions. Fragmentation of care is a major problem for patients, who often have to “fight the system” to receive the care they need.
Every case requires a fundamental shift from disease-centred to patient- and family-centred approach, combining self-management in the community with well-integrated professional support throughout the life-course. This implies the empowerment of patients and their involvement at every level in the health system, ensuring active patient involvement in policymaking and in the design of care services to meet their needs more effectively.
Recently, the European Union-funded EMPATHIE project (“Empowering patients in the management of chronic diseases”) developed a working definition of an empowered patient, which combines both empowerment and involvement. According to the project, empowered patients have control over the management of their condition in daily life. They take action to improve the quality of their life and have the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes and self-awareness to adjust their behavior and to work in partnership with others where necessary, to achieve optimal well-being.
The project also says that “empowerment interventions” aim to equip patients (and their informal caregivers whenever appropriate) with the capacity to participate in decisions related to their condition to the extent that they wish to do so; to become “co-managers” of their condition in partnership with health professionals; and to develop self-confidence, self-esteem and coping skills to manage the physical, emotional and social impacts of illness in everyday life.
09:00 – 09:10 Introduction by the chairs
10:20 -10:40 Coffee/tea break
11:50 – 11:55 Conclusion by the chairs
11:55 – 12:00 Room refresh
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Type of session: Knowledge-based