Impact of the European Union enlargement on health professionals and health care systems.
As the European family enlarges, the admission of new human resources in the health services will have an impact on the European market and health care system. Under the umbrella of the European Union (EU) equality, the educational quality barriers (e.g. PLAB test in UK, DIKATSA test in Greece) will be abolished. The overproduction of health professionals and their heterogeneous regional and per specialty distribution will lead to medical unemployment and demotion of the medical profession. Medical and political authorities and decision makers of the EU need to reform the European Health System, supervise, and assess the quality of medical education, harmonize the individual National Health System policies, and follow the World Health Organization (regional office for Europe) guidelines on health policy. An agreed, structured European Health Policy might moderate the vibrations of the forthcoming EU enlargement.
Second Department of Surgery, General Hospital Asclepeion Voulas, Vas. Pavlou 1, 16673 Voula Attikis, Athens, Greece. eavgerinos@medscape.com
Efthimios D
ED
Avgerinos
Sotirios A
SA
Koupidis
Dimitrios K
DK
Filippou
D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005060:Europe; D005062:European Union / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005544:Forecasting; D019981:Health Care Sector / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006302:Health Services Research; D006280:Health Workforce / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011057:Politics; D014478:Unemployment / Q000639:trends