Making Change Happen in Health

Integrating personalised medicine into Europe's healthcare systems will undoubtedly need to draw upon diverse talents via a multi-stakeholder approach taking expertise from academia, industry, healthcare organisations, government, policymakers and, of course, patient groups. It will also need a long-term budget commitment geared towards stimulating research and innovation in order to succeed. The role of HTA also needs to be boosted, while EU engagement in health needs to increase, not decrease, and requires a long-term strategy to provide a structure, a framework, and a consensus. Health equals wealth and the authors argue here that investment in research and innovation, alongside laws and rules that are fit-for-purpose and reflect the swiftly changing world of medicine, are vital. Europe needs to grasp these points at every level for the benefit of the millions of potential patients spread across the soon-to-be 27 Member States.