Patient mobility in the European Union. Learning from experience

People travel across Europe with greater ease than ever before. On much of the Continent, border checks are a thing of the past. Budget airlines make possible cheap holidays abroad, and some people even choose to work in one country and spend their weekends in another. Finally, more and more people from northern Europe are retiring to the warmth of the Mediterranean.

All these developments have implications for health systems. The freedom of movement granted to Europe's citizens by European treaties can only become reality if people know that they will receive high-quality, appropriate care if they fall ill when abroad. Those responsible for delivering health care may see advantages in the opportunities created by the European Union, by sharing capacity in sparsely populated border areas or ensuring access to highly-specialized care for people living on small islands.

The Europe for Patients project, financially supported by the European Union's Sixth Framework Programme for research, seeks to understand how the opportunities offered by the European Union can be maximized, and how any potential problems can be overcome. This collection of case studies provides a wealth of experience of collaborating across borders in all parts of Europe.