A multi-level approach in care across Europe to increase access to high– quality care for everyone, by utilising digital tools, specialised knowledge, real-world evidence and more. We advocate for more coordination of care across member states.
The right to quality care should be the basis for respiratory care-related policy, addressing health inequalities across Europe and enabling productive and rewarding working and school lives. Although no cures for respiratory diseases can be expected by 2030 and many promising developments may not resolve into solutions, it we expect step changes in the way that we approach lung health.
Care is a right that is acted upon
Timely and accurate diagnosis for lung diseases is guaranteed: By 2030, diagnosis of lung disease should no longer occur late. Validated self-checks can speed up the process of diagnosis. Testing and wider application of screening, such as low-dose computer tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer, will open understanding of the range of diseases and co-morbidities, leading to silo’s being removed from healthcare.
An EFA study showed that 16% of asthma and COPD patients initially receive a wrong diagnosis, taking on average between 4.5 and 5.2 years to receive a correct diagnosis.
Lung patients get the right treatment at the right time: A transition to more exact approaches with personalised treatment and therapy should be in place by 2030, leaving behind the idea of one-treatment-fits-all. The right treatment for the right patient should be delivered by analysing individual patient data to create tailored treatment plans and multidisciplinary care,, with everyone getting the re-imbursement they need to access that treatment. The gap between European countries in the provision of care should be addressed and the principle of equity should drive policy decisions. Quality of life should lie at the heart of all treatment outcomes, with a comorbidities approach adopted for treatment and care that accounts for non-pharmacological approaches and is verified against guidelines.
Equitable Access to Treatment: Across Europe, patients continue to face significant inequalities in access to approved, guideline-recommended treatments. While some countries provide timely access to the full range of evidence-based therapies, others experience substantial delays or limited reimbursement, resulting in unequal standards of care. Breathe Vision supports equitable access to high-quality respiratory care and approved treatments for all patients, regardless of where they live, helping to reduce avoidable disease progression, improve quality of life, and save lives.
Equal access to care monitored by Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Inequal access to testing, treatment and care severely affects individual’s lung health. An improvement in inequities should be forged, monitored by developing agreed European level KPIswhich are analysed for regulars during the coming 10 years.
Every patient has a self-management plan: E-medicine should have addressed the fact that two-thirds of patients (asthma and COPD) report that they do not have a self-management plan and one third declare that they have not heard about self-management plans . Patient pathways and self-management plans should also be formalised across Europe and promoted by health care professionals. Health literacy should be advanced to support this approach.
Almost 90% of seasonal influenza-related deaths occur in patients in the older age group.
Digitalising respiratory health, care, and patient communities: Digital health will drive change in providing access to quality health, and it will be most effective it is developed with patients at the heart of technological developments. The WHO Europe initiative on empowerment through digitalisation and the WHO Europe Regional digital health action plan should be acted upon and give the EU incentives for action. In Europe, lung patients should be able to access virtual monitoring of disease progression providing flexible, responsive, and timely care. Care should have moved forward through technology providing patients with the information they need on a daily basis. Remote consultations should also reduce costs, with the digital divide in lung disease addressed. The opportunities and risks must be well managed during the deeper integration of technologies in research, care and daily lives while supporting the patient-doctor core relationship.
Medication is improved for children with lung disease: Our understanding of how to medicate children should be advanced, protecting the next generation. Lung health in children is vital and a key predictor of ill health in adults. Investing in lung health early in life is essential, as research shows that childhood lung-function trajectories contribute to around 75% of the burden of COPD in adulthood, highlighting the long-term benefits of preventing and managing respiratory disease from childhood. In Europe, for infants, congenital anomalies and prematurity each account for 30% of deaths. Among extremely preterm neonates, infections, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders are the most common reported causes of death. More research effort should deliver new medication and tailored treatment approaches, with secondary treatments, like rehabilitation, made available. Legislation on medicines for children should be revised to improve the treatments available.
Well managed adolescent and young adult care: The transition from childhood asthma care to adult care can be difficult to manage. Patients can fall between the gaps, a point exacerbated when this group often under report their disease symptoms. A clear framework should be in place which states how the transition should happen, supported by a centre of excellence covering the transition from child to adult services.
Address care for long term effects of infectious disease: As with COVID-19, the long-term impact of reduced lung-function resulting from infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and influenza, should be addressed as a priority.