Today, the Commission published a report by the EU Expert Group on Health Systems Performance Assessment (HSPA) titled: Improving access to healthcare through more powerful measurement tools.

Patient-centric is one of the features of well-performing health systems. Measuring and understanding what actually matters to patients and what problems they experience is a challenge. It is well known that some people have unmet medical needs or that healthcare may be a huge financial burden for some households, pushing them into poverty. Figures also show that there may be long waiting times for some services. However, data does not show if services provided by national authorities are adequate, respond to needs or why some groups are left behind. Persistent problems may be obscure, because they are not measured. The COVID-19 pandemic adds to accessibility challenges, reinforcing the vicious cycle between poor health and social disadvantage. This requires more tailored policy responses.

The report shows how a better measurement framework can make an impact on a broader policy context through mitigating consequences of accumulated social, economic and health disadvantage. 
It explores three types of tools: 

• measures of equitable distribution of health benefits; 
• patient vignettes, which have also been tested in pilots  (mental, dental, stroke care); 
• tools which can be used at national level to better understand hurdles experienced by vulnerable groups. 

Putting such tools to work can ensure a stronger patient perspective, a more central place for health equity and better consideration of different layers of vulnerability. The aim of this report is to assist policy makers in addressing health inequalities by providing new robust measurement tools to measure access to healthcare. 

EU Expert Group on Health Systems Performance Assessment

Following the adoption of conclusions “Towards modern, responsive and sustainable health systems” by the Council of the European Union, in 2014 the Council Working Party on Public Health at Senior Level (WPPHSL) invited Member States and the Commission to set up an Expert Group on Health Systems Performance Assessment (HSPA).

The membership of the Expert Group is comprised of representatives from EU Member States plus Norway, the European Commission, the OECD, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. The Expert Group is co-chaired by a Member State periodically elected by other Member States’ representatives, and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE).

After having examined the array of tools and methodologies to assess quality of care, integrated care, primary care, efficiency of care, and resilience of health systems, in 2020/21 the Expert Group focused on identifying better tools to  measure access to healthcare. 

For more information:

• Report: Improving access to healthcare through more powerful measurement tools
• EU action in the area of health systems performance assessment