European Patients' Podcast: The Voice of Patients in Europe

From Patients to Policy: Voices Shaping Health Policies

In this episode, former Executive Director Anca Toma speaks with Michal Rataj, Vice President of the Polish Neuromuscular Diseases Association and member of the EPF Ethics Board, about his experience as a patient representative on the EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC). Michal reflects on the responsibility and impact of bringing the patient perspective to medicines safety discussions, the importance of equal participation, and the case for voting rights for patient reps in EMA committees like CHMP. He shares lessons from over 30 years in patient advocacy and urges communities to connect and speak with a united voice.

From Patients to Policy: Voices Shaping Health Policies

In this episode, Anca Toma, EPF Executive Director at the moment of the recording, speaks with Dimitrios Athanasiou, board member of the World Duchenne Organization [https://www.worldduchenne.org/], former EPF Board Member, and long-time patient advocate, about the critical role of patients in shaping medicines regulation at the European level. Dimitrios shares his personal journey into advocacy, his work as a voting member of the EMA’s Paediatric Committee, and the real-world impact of involving patients in regulatory decision-making. He reflects on the challenges of ensuring meaningful participation, especially amid recent policy shifts that risk limiting patients’ voting rights within EMA committees.

EDiHTA Talks #2: How to Make Mobile Health Apps Accessible to Patients

We're continuing our miniseries about EDiHTA, a EU-funded project that aims to develop the first flexible, inclusive, and validated European Health Technology Assessment (HTA) framework for digital health technologies. In this episode, we spoke with Emma Andersson, an Advocacy Specialist actively involved in the project through the Patient Advisory Group. We discussed mobile health apps and their role in revolutionising healthcare. Find out more about the project: https://edihta-project.eu/

From Vision to Reality: Implementing the EU HTA Regulation

In this episode, we talk about the implementation of the EU Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Regulation. Join EPF in conversation with two special guests: Béla Dajka, Policy Officer at the European Commission (DG SANTE), and Valentina Strammiello, EPF Director of Strategic Initiatives. Together, they reflect on the journey to reach this moment, explore what the Regulation means for patients’ access to medicines and high-risk medical devices across Europe, and discuss how patient involvement will shape this groundbreaking initiative.

From Patients to Policy: Voices Shaping Health Policies

In this third episode of our special miniseries on patient involvement at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), EPF Executive Director Anca Toma speaks with Jakub Dvořáček, Deputy Minister of Health of Czechia. In this conversation, they dive into how patients can engage at the national level to help shape health policies. They also explore how this national involvement connects with and complements patient involvement at the European level, including in EMA decision-making.