Cross Border Healthcare & Patient Mobility: Public Consultation on Scotland's Transposition and Implementation of Directive 2011/24 EU on the Application of Patients' Rights in Cross-border Healthcare.

Purpose of the consultation

1.1 This consultation document sets out the Scottish Government's approach to implementation of the EU Directive on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare. It seeks views on the detail of the implementation, and examines the effects the Directive may have on Scotland's health system.

1.2 The Directive clarifies citizens' rights to access healthcare in another Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA)², sets out the grounds on which they can claim reimbursement of the eligible costs of treatment from their home healthcare system. The Directive also sets out a number of areas for EU-wide co-operation in healthcare.

1.3 The purpose of the Directive is not to foster or promote cross-border healthcare, but to facilitate access to healthcare services in other Member States and to ensure that they are safe and of high quality when citizens decide to use the Directive's provisions to access necessary healthcare. The Directive also aims to help patients benefit from improved information and better clarity on the rules that apply.

1.4 Although there is a final adopted text for the Directive, it is for each Member State to decide how it is implemented at national level. There is considerable scope to decide how best to implement the Directive's requirements into the domestic system. This consultation document sets out the Scottish Government's overall approach to implementation, as well as how it proposes to meet the individual obligations contained in the Directive.