Global challenges and local needs – How european mobility of medical doctors affects on health inequalities, findings of health prometheus

Background: The extent of mobility within Europe has increased markedly over the last decade after the EU Accession. As regards of free movement of persons, relevant EU Treaty provisions include the principle freedom of movement for ‘workers’. On the other hand and given that equity is also a core principle in Europe, there is a concern that mobility of health labor force might create inequity in access to care in certain countries.

Objectives: Health PROMeTHEUS project undertook mapping of health professionals’ mobility between the EU countries and the other relevant OECD countries. The aim was drawing the magnitude of professional mobility and identify critical issues on health systems.

Methods: Interactive data collection form was used to collect data from 35 countries on the exact numbers of professionals, specialization area and educational information in the recent years, moreover on citizenship and experiences overseas.

Results: Data was collected regarding the years 1988, 2003 and 2007, thus the significant impact of the EU Accession on mobility flows can be observed. The most important finding is the identification of the source/donor and target/recipient countries in the mobility flow. The analysis pointed out that the top target countries are the United Kingdom and Sweden. Further, several European countries play mixed role, namely these countries operate source and target countries simultaneously. It can be seen that African and Asian countries and Australia also provides an important source for medical doctors who are working in the EU.

Conclusions: It is highly prioritized to monitor the sustainability of health systems, especially in source countries. Health professionals’ mobility modifies the numbers of professionals in different countries. The challenges are distinguished: target countries should integrate their inflow and provide equal rights, and source countries should compensate their lack in order to avoid patients’ inequalities in accessing health care.