The Patient in Free Movement Law: Medical History, Diagnosis and Prognosis

Van Leeuwen, Barend

doi:10.1017/cel.2019.5

The Patient in Free Movement Law: Medical History, Diagnosis and Prognosis

Van Leeuwen, Barend

Authors

Dr Barend Van Leeuwen barend.j.van-leeuwen@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Abstract

Free movement of patients has been criticised from the moment that the first patient cases reached the CJEU. The moving patient supposedly increases consumerism, reduces national solidarity and has a negative impact on the quality of healthcare provided in some Member States. This paper challenges the empirical foundations of such criticisms. An empirical analysis of all patient cases before the CJEU shows that a significant number of patients required urgent treatment, that their medical condition was life-threatening and that they were supported by their treating doctor in seeking treatment in another Member State. Moreover, free movement of patient cases regularly lead to positive changes to national healthcare systems. Therefore, the negative attitude towards free movement of patients should be reconsidered. Patients, doctors and lawyers have to think more strategically about how free movement can be used to improve the quality of healthcare in the EU.

Citation

Van Leeuwen, B. (2019). The Patient in Free Movement Law: Medical History, Diagnosis and Prognosis. The Cambridge yearbook of European legal studies, 21, 162-186. https://doi.org/10.1017/cel.2019.5

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 6, 2019
Online Publication Date	Jul 16, 2019
Publication Date	Dec 31, 2019
Deposit Date	May 7, 2019
Publicly Available Date	May 28, 2019
Journal	The Cambridge yearbook of European legal studies.
Print ISSN	2049-7636
Electronic ISSN	2049-7636
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	21
Pages	162-186
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1017/cel.2019.5

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This article has been published in a revised form in Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies https://doi.org/10.1017/cel.2019.5. This version is published under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND. No commercial re-distribution or re-use allowed. Derivative works cannot be distributed. © Centre for European Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge.