Rethinking EU healthcare delivery models for chronic patients

After being diagnosed in 2015, at 28 years of age, Fabian began documenting his cancer battle on a blog, which made him realize the true power of storytelling and how sharing his story helped him cope with his ‘cancer trauma’. Sharing his story helped him to process what he was going through, emotionally and psychologically, but also gave him a sense of purpose that he had never felt before. This, together with a strong urge to help others affected by cancer, became the foundation for the War On Cancer app – a digital support tool for everyone affected by cancer.

Maya Matthews has worked in the public health sector for the past 25 years.  She currently holds the position of Acting Director for Digital, EU4health and Health Systems Modernisation as well as Head of Unit for State of Health, European Semester, Health Technology Assessment at the European Commission’s Health and Food Safety Directorate General (DG SANTE). Matthews was previously Deputy Head of Unit in the Strategy and Coordination unit. Prior to this, she worked at the European Union’s Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva where she covered health issues and relations with the World Health Organisation. Before joining the European Commission, Matthews worked in Brussels for Eurohealthnet and as a consultant on reproductive health, HIV prevention and Tuberculosis. 

Anna Odone is a renowned Italian academic and the youngest-ever female university professor in her country. As a consultant physician, she is also the President of the Digital Health Section of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA). Odone’s research is centred on infectious diseases control with a focus on vaccines and immunisation programmes and policies. She is author or co-authors of two university textbooks, five book chapters, several reports and over 80 Medline indexed research articles, including studies on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brieuc Van Damme is a Belgian economist specialised in healthcare and social affairs, currently working with RIZIV-INAMI. Prior to this, he was at the heart of national policymaking, serving as an advisor to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and as Deputy Chief of Staff to Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block. His work mostly focused on pharmaceuticals and medtech, the healthcare care budget, e-health and patient-related subjects. He has also lectured at the University of Ghent, Antwerp and the École Nationale d’Administration in Kinshasa and co-founded the Friday Group think tank with the King Baudouin Foundation.

Raymond Vanholder has a distinguished career centred around dialysis adequacy, uremic toxicity and various topics related to clinical nephrology, publishing more than 900 papers, reviews and book chapters. He has been chairman of the European Uremic Toxin Work Group (EUTox), European Renal Best Practice and the Renal Disaster Relief Task Force (RDRTF) of the International Society of Nephrology. He also served as President of the Belgian Society of Nephrology, the European Society of Artificial Organs and the European Renal Association – European Transplant Association. Currently, he is President of the European Kidney Health Alliance and the European Chronic Disease Alliance.

Tamsin Rose is a facilitator who was until recently a senior fellow for health at Friends of Europe. Having studied international relations, she has 25 years of experience working across the European continent from Ireland to Mongolia. A natural communicator, Tamsin has been a radio reporter, worked on press for the EU Delegation in Moscow and is currently a member of the external speaker team for the European Commission Directorate-General for Communication, describing how the EU works and key policies to visitor groups from around the world. Since 2002, she has specialised in public health and public participation issues, serving as the Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), and providing strategic advice for health groups on how to engage successfully with the EU.