Public Health Policies in European Union: An Innovation Strategy—Horizon 2020

Health planning and policy seek to create a group of mutually interacting bodies to produce goods and services to meet the health needs of a population. Recent developments in the health status of the population are characterized by continuous improvement in life expectancy, chronic diseases which absorb 90% of total health care expenditure, differences in the causes of mortality (more than 70% mortality from cancer, heart and brain, and external causes). The new trends in health indicators define the current health policies and lead to the necessity of adapting the health system so as to meet the changing health needs of the population. Especially in the context of the changes in the epidemiological spectrum and the variability in the indices of morbidity and mortality, the focus is not only to further prolong life expectancy but also to improve life expectancy without chronic diseases and without disabilities and to reduce the avoidable mortality, the potential years of life lost before the age of 65 years. According to this approach, the main strategic priorities of health policy in the European Union for the period 2014–2020 are: (1) Prevention and health promotion (to combat diseases associated with the modern way of life), (2) Protection from cross-border threats (to address the external impact from cross-border relations, combating epidemics, pandemics), (3) Viability (to address the lack of resources by adopting innovation), (4) Accessibility (to assure the access to medical expertise).Therefore, the key priorities are the prevention of disease and the improvement of life in good health, the patient safety and quality of health services, and the readiness to manage crises and health risks.