The position statement from the European Social Insurance Platform (ESIP) calls on the EU Commission as well as European and national standards bodies to cease activities and considerations regarding the standardisation of health and social services.

For some time now, the umbrella organisations of the German social insurance system have spoken out against the standardisation of health and social services. They have appealed several times to politicians and standardisation organisations, pointing out that the standardisation of healthcare services is not suitable for achieving better patient safety and access to high-quality care. In fact, it could have the opposite effect. For example, with regard to quality assurance in long-term care or medical care in Germany, there are well-established self-administrative procedures which are geared towards the specific conditions of the German healthcare system.  

 

Now, the umbrella organisations have once again spoken out against efforts to standardise social and health services by combining with 40 other social insurance organisations in Europe to put forward a position statement. The position statement from the European Social Insurance Platform (ESIP) calls on the EU Commission as well as European and national standards bodies to cease activities and considerations regarding the standardisation of health and social services. ESIP stresses once more that the quality standards developed as part of standardisation can compete with national requirements and the quality specifications developed by experts. Furthermore, they are not necessarily consistent with the special requirements for medical care and rehabilitation services that are organised at national level.  

 

The position paper can be found online at: 

http://esip.eu/files/ESIP%20Position%20on%20standardisation%20of%20health%20and%20social%20services_FINAL.pdf