European Reference Network (ERN) eUROGEN has now expanded to include Affiliated Partners from Latvia (1), Austria (1) and Spain (9) as well as three National Coordination Hubs from Malta, Hungary and Luxembourg.

The top priority for ERN eUROGEN is knowledge transfer by providing expert advice upon request to healthcare professionals (HCPs) in other EU countries using the Clinical Patient Management System (CPMS), which is a virtual IT platform allowing the secure exchange of patients' medical information.

The ERN eUROGEN Coordination Team are planning a series of short visits to the Coordination Hubs to launch the collaboration. The first visit is to Malta's Meter Dei hospital on 28 November 2019 where a presentation will be given on the background of the ERNs and how ERN eUROGEN uses CPMS to help improve patient care. Training sessions on CPMS will also be delivered and a meeting is planned with the clinical team who will be actively collaborating with ERN eUROGEN.

The Coordination Hubs are being targeted as it is anticipated that referral pathways into the ERNs may be more streamlined in smaller countries which have chosen the Coordination Hub mechanism to connect with the ERNs. The aim is for the Coordination Hubs to understand more about the ERNs, receive training on how to use CPMS and have a clear understanding of how they can interact with the ERN eUROGEN clinical teams. The Malta visit and CPMS will be evaluated and, based on the learning points, improvements will be made for future visits.