#EAPM - פארוואס מיר דאַרפֿן מער אייראָפּע און עקספּערץ אין געזונט זאָרגן

We’d like to take this opportunity to let you know that rעגיסטראציע איז באַשטימט open for our upcoming Croatia-Germany EU Presidency conference which will be a 'ווירטואַל' event, to be held online, on 30 June, שרייבט EUROPEAN אַלליאַנסע פֿאַר פּערסאָנאַליסעד מעדיצין (עאַפּם) אויספֿיר דירעקטאָר דעניס האָרגאַן.

The conference is entitled מאַינטאַינינג עפנטלעך צוטרוי אין די use of Big Data for health science in a Covid and post-Covid world. 

A key role of any EAPM conference is to bring together עקספּערץ to agree policies by consensus and take our conclusions to policy מייקערז. And this time, we go even further into the realm of expertise, given the huge crisis that we are all facing.

It's fair to say that, in certain quarters at least, ‘experts' have had a hard time of it. It's a little like critics determined to hammer a stage play, or a football pundit picking on a player - quite often it says more about the critic than the expert.

For example, very recently we've seen America's leading infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci come under fire from his own president, while Fauci's Italian counterpart, Walter Ricciardi, has felt the ire of populist League leader מאַטטעאָ סאַלוויני.

In respect of Ricciardi, he is the co-writer (with EAPM’s דעניס האָרגאַן) of an article entitled Leviathan, or the Rudder of Public געזונטהייַט in which the authors, with some prescience as it turns out, talked about member state co-operation against the backdrop that healthcare remains the competence of individual EU countries.

The authors posited: “A shift in the EU approach to meeting citizens' needs could strengthen the case for personalised care. Currently the EU treaty offers little basis for support, and the (then דזשין-קלאַודע דזשונקקער) Commission has shown little interest in expanding attention to health."

They continue: “The question for the advocates of personalised medicine and healthcare is whether they can persuade the policy world of the merits of their avowed mission, and of the need to align public health policy accordingly. 

אַדווערטייזמאַנט

"Success will depend heavily on how far the conception of public health remains static, or how far it is capable of adapting to changes in the nature of innovation and of society."

And: “Crossing the threshold will need an acceptance that the EU can act in a facilitating role, with political endorsement, and with research funding extending beyond short-term projects, and across medical disciplines of radiology, surgery, oncology, engaging the drug and ICT industries.

"Consistent collection and curation of evidence gathered from real-world data will have to be integrated into healthcare innovation more effectively.

"The rudder that once acted to steer public health is no longer adequate for the job, and new thinking is needed to take advantage of opportunities that did not before exist."

(Read the full article here.)

Right now, with a pandemic on our hands, and with lives literally depending on the next moves by governments and health bosses, we absolutely need experts from all kinds of arenas and trying to ignore them, contradict them or even tear them down can, at the very least, be counter-productive and, worse, deadly. 

Testing, one, two, three…

One of many important topics thrown into focus by the current crisis is testing - when to test, who to test and how to do it most effectively. Of course, EAPM has campaigned for screening for lung and prostate cancers down the years, for example, but questions have been asked about specific testing in this Covid-19 environment.

As this update was being put together, סלאָוועניאַ האט נאָר מודיע די קאַטער פון אַ 3,000-מענטש survey to געפינען אויס מער וועגן asymptomatic infection rates. The Statistical Office and the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana invited citizens from across the country to be tested for the coronavirus while giving a blood sample. 

Results should be ready by 1 May. Meanwhile, in מאַלטאַ, it seems that many citizens are missing their appointments to be tested for די וויירוס.

Despite this, Malta is doing well in the testing context, behind only לוקסעמבאָורג און איסלאנד.

Testing in a health-care context is a fulcrum of personalised medicine, not just in cancer and the novel coronavirus, but also Alzheimers, for example. Alongside its stakeholders, members and -yes - experts! - EAPM is currently working on developing an optimal and minimum framework for testing.  

Obviously there is a link here to the use of diagnostic information and the value which this can and does bring. Yet there is a דעבאַטע going on with respect to what constitutes a valuable healthcare intervention in a health system, and the corollary consideration of what governments are willing to pay for a certain health intervention. 

Until recently, the value of information in general האט טאָן שוין part of the discussion. However, investment in diagnostic information can be a key development as information may guide more effective and efficient healthcare and help maintain an affordable health system. 

EAPM believes that what is required a holistic framework that accounts for the full range of potential benefits of diagnostic testing, beyond the traditional clinical and health economic domains, and that itis essential to recognize, measure, and fully leverage the benefits of diagnostics for patients, health-זאָרגן systems,and society.

Meantime, one result of the COVID-19 crisis, aside from the disruptions to daily life, our economies, etc, has been that it has disrupted - in an innovative way - healthcare, and quickly. It’s had to do so, embracing the need to fast-track on-paper solutions into realities.

Going forward, Europe needs a framework to allow this to take place on a regular, ‘normal’ basis, but with care. For instance, one example of technology coming swiftly to the fore is the use of apps to trace people in a coronavirus context. This clearly needs to be done with extreme care to avoid an unwanted push-back from the EU’s בירגער.

All of the above will be discussed at the next EAPM conference, and we hope you will join us for that.

What’s happening in health?

Given our constant calls for ‘more, not less, Europe in healthcare’ it was encouraging to hear געזונט קאַמישאַנער Stella Kyriakides tell the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee that the EU needs more competence in public health to really improve coordination and allow the EU "to step in".

צוזאמען קריזיס פאַרוואַלטונג קאַמישאַנער Janez Lenarčič, Kyriakides also defended the Commission's response to the pandemic, not least its באַשטעטיקן אַרויף of an EU stockpile of medical goods.

Staying with the Commission - it has just launched a data-sharing platform for scientists to publish their coronavirus research. This could include DNA sequences ווי געזונט ווי data from pre-clinical studies. 

די idea is to simplify the sharing of data and discoveries among scientists working on the coronavirus. Great news!

Public right to know?

עס טורנס אויס אַז Italy already had a Covid-19 plan ready to rock-n-roll back אין יאנואר, but didn’t want to scare the public, so said nothing. According to די רעפובליק, פרי ערגסט פאַל forecasts turned out to be pretty accurate, apart from its speed - it happened much more quickly than predicted.

Part of the plan was the urgent acquisition of personal protective equipment (פּפּע).

Which brings us finally, almost inevitably, to the UK… Despite government assurances to the contrary it transpires that בריטאניע 's decision not to join an EU procurement scheme for PPE was not about lost messages and missing deadlines. Word is it was about Brexit. 

Simon McDonald, ווער איז head of the diplomatic service at the UK's פרעמד אָפפיסע, was asked at a recent House of Commons' פרעמד ענינים קאַמיטי about the policy advice given to ministers.

McDonald said: “It was a political decision.” We all know what that means…

The British Prime Minister באריס זשאנסאן, meanwhile, in recovery at his country residence from a serious brush with the virus, has clearly moved on from such matters. He was on the phone early this week to agree to a “coordinated”response to the coronavirus with US President דאָנאַלד טראַמפּ.

Can somebody please tell those guys it’s nearly the end of April already?

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