Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II U.K. RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBER STATES WITH REGARD TO CROSS-BORDER HEALTH CARE

Article 4 U.K. Responsibilities of the Member State of treatment

1. Taking into account the principles of universality, access to good quality care, equity and solidarity, cross-border healthcare shall be provided in accordance with:

(a) the legislation of the Member State of treatment;

(b) standards and guidelines on quality and safety laid down by the Member State of treatment; and

(c) Union legislation on safety standards.

2. The Member State of treatment shall ensure that:

(a) patients receive from the national contact point referred to in Article 6, upon request, relevant information on the standards and guidelines referred to in paragraph 1(b) of this Article, including provisions on supervision and assessment of healthcare providers, information on which healthcare providers are subject to these standards and guidelines and information on the accessibility of hospitals for persons with disabilities;

(b) healthcare providers provide relevant information to help individual patients to make an informed choice, including on treatment options, on the availability, quality and safety of the healthcare they provide in the Member State of treatment and that they also provide clear invoices and clear information on prices, as well as on their authorisation or registration status, their insurance cover or other means of personal or collective protection with regard to professional liability. To the extent that healthcare providers already provide patients resident in the Member State of treatment with relevant information on these subjects, this Directive does not oblige healthcare providers to provide more extensive information to patients from other Member States;

(c) there are transparent complaints procedures and mechanisms in place for patients, in order for them to seek remedies in accordance with the legislation of the Member State of treatment if they suffer harm arising from the healthcare they receive;

(d) systems of professional liability insurance, or a guarantee or similar arrangement that is equivalent or essentially comparable as regards its purpose and which is appropriate to the nature and the extent of the risk, are in place for treatment provided on its territory;

(e) the fundamental right to privacy with respect to the processing of personal data is protected in conformity with national measures implementing Union provisions on the protection of personal data, in particular Directives 95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC;

(f) in order to ensure continuity of care, patients who have received treatment are entitled to a written or electronic medical record of such treatment, and access to at least a copy of this record in conformity with and subject to national measures implementing Union provisions on the protection of personal data, in particular Directives 95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC.

3. The principle of non-discrimination with regard to nationality shall be applied to patients from other Member States.

This shall be without prejudice to the possibility for the Member State of treatment, where it is justified by overriding reasons of general interest, such as planning requirements relating to the aim of ensuring sufficient and permanent access to a balanced range of high-quality treatment in the Member State concerned or to the wish to control costs and avoid, as far as possible, any waste of financial, technical and human resources, to adopt measures regarding access to treatment aimed at fulfilling its fundamental responsibility to ensure sufficient and permanent access to healthcare within its territory. Such measures shall be limited to what is necessary and proportionate and may not constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination and shall be made publicly available in advance.

4. Member States shall ensure that the healthcare providers on their territory apply the same scale of fees for healthcare for patients from other Member States, as for domestic patients in a comparable medical situation, or that they charge a price calculated according to objective, non-discriminatory criteria if there is no comparable price for domestic patients.

This paragraph shall be without prejudice to national legislation which allows healthcare providers to set their own prices, provided that they do not discriminate against patients from other Member States.

5. This Directive shall not affect laws and regulations in Member States on the use of languages. Member States may choose to deliver information in other languages than those which are official languages in the Member State concerned.

Article 5 U.K. Responsibilities of the Member State of affiliation

The Member State of affiliation shall ensure that:

(a)

the cost of cross-border healthcare is reimbursed in accordance with Chapter III;

(b)

there are mechanisms in place to provide patients on request with information on their rights and entitlements in that Member State relating to receiving cross-border healthcare, in particular as regards the terms and conditions for reimbursement of costs in accordance with Article 7(6) and procedures for accessing and determining those entitlements and for appeal and redress if patients consider that their rights have not been respected, in accordance with Article 9. In information about cross-border healthcare, a clear distinction shall be made between the rights which patients have by virtue of this Directive and rights arising from Regulation (EC) No 883/2004;

(c)

where a patient has received cross-border healthcare and where medical follow-up proves necessary, the same medical follow-up is available as would have been if that healthcare had been provided on its territory;

(d)

patients who seek to receive or do receive cross-border healthcare have remote access to or have at least a copy of their medical records, in conformity with, and subject to, national measures implementing Union provisions on the protection of personal data, in particular Directives 95/46/EC and 2002/58/EC.

Article 6 U.K. National contact points for cross-border healthcare

1. Each Member State shall designate one or more national contact points for cross-border healthcare and communicate their names and contact details to the Commission. The Commission and the Member States shall make this information publicly available. Member States shall ensure that the national contact points consult with patient organisations, healthcare providers and healthcare insurers.

2. National contact points shall facilitate the exchange of information referred to in paragraph 3 and shall cooperate closely with each other and with the Commission. National contact points shall provide patients on request with contact details of national contact points in other Member States.

3. In order to enable patients to make use of their rights in relation to cross-border healthcare, national contact points in the Member State of treatment shall provide them with information concerning healthcare providers, including, on request, information on a specific provider’s right to provide services or any restrictions on its practice, information referred to in Article 4(2)(a), as well as information on patients’ rights, complaints procedures and mechanisms for seeking remedies, according to the legislation of that Member State, as well as the legal and administrative options available to settle disputes, including in the event of harm arising from cross-border healthcare.

4. National contact points in the Member State of affiliation shall provide patients and health professionals with the information referred to in Article 5(b).

5. The information referred to in this Article shall be easily accessible and shall be made available by electronic means and in formats accessible to people with disabilities, as appropriate.