News: Europe calling

36 European healthcare regulators have responded, of whom 16 regulate doctors.

27 November 2009

European regulators working closer than ever, report says

Over the past few years, Healthcare Professionals Crossing Borders (HPCB), a European-wide partnership of healthcare regulators facilitated by the GMC, has worked to develop a more collaborative approach to regulation within the European single market. During this time two European agreements have been secured to provide a protocol for the sharing of disciplinary information about doctors as they move around Europe under its free movement provisions.

To assess the impact of the initiative and the level of compliance, the HPCB surveyed member regulators across Europe at the end of July 2009. To date 36 European healthcare regulators have responded, of whom 16 regulate doctors.

The survey indicates that:

over 72% of respondents publish a list of registered practitioners on their website
half of the respondents now issue a Certificate of Current Professionals Status (CCPS) developed by HPCB in 2005 for when a doctor seeks registration in a new member state; seven more regulators are planning to implement the CCPS by 2012
17 respondents currently exchange disciplinary information with regulators in other member states when they remove a healthcare practitioner from the register; the reasons member states gave for not providing this information are that it is not permitted within the legal framework and there were concerns about openly sharing this information without careful safeguards in place.

The full survey results will be presented to EU decisions makers at a European Parliament reception in December and will inform the future work programme for HPCB.

For more information visit: www.hpcb.eu

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