2010 November - EHC

disorders. Comprehensive health care centers (that were born six years ago) are implanted already
in more than 20 countries in Europe like in: Ireland, UK, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, etc.
And comprehensive health care will cover all sites of treatment», completes.
In his perspective, «comprehensive health care is more cost-effective and for instance a good way to
improve quality of life in patients with haemophilia». Taking the example of other countries, patients
should go twice a year to centers to receive a medical treatment plan. After that, they can follow the
treatment in local hospital. «In this centers we have all the disciplines and the treatment is
concentrated. »
This measure is very useful not only for children but patients with co-morbidities such as HIV positive
and infected with hepatitis. «Although patients have to travel to the centre, at the end, patients can
achieve a lot of benefits. We have learned by following examples of other countries that the cost
have crash down with comprehensive health care centers, because in this places experts are
available to treat patients who suffered of haemophilia in a efficient way.» Also as hospitalisation
went down with 40%, quality of live for the patient is much better now.
The social cost is lower because when the patient has a better treatment his functionality to work or
to go to school, reducing the days missed, increases, for instance. «This multidisciplinary approach
needs to be applied in efficient care and treatment centers to ensure its full benefits. The EHC would
like to improve the progress on these elements in Portugal, giving some advices and tools to start
implementation soon», concludes Ad Veldhuizen.
(text published in the newspaper edited during the EHC-conference)
Welcome of the President of the “Associação Portuguesa
de Hemofilia e de outras Coagulopatias Congénitas” (APH)
Lisbon is the chosen place to perform the 23rd Annual Conference of European Consortium of
Haemophilia (CEH), a meeting organized by Portuguese Association of Haemophilia and other
Congenital Coagulopathies (APH) and CEH. According to João Paulo Silva, the president of APH, this
meeting aims «to disclose haemophilia and promote the understanding of all the issues related to
this disease, in order to improve haemophilia and other congenital bleeding disorders’ treatment, as
well as implement references centers to treat patients».
João Paulo Silva hopes that this event «can be an opportunity to boost universal criteria for the
treatment of these diseases throughout the country – guidelines». In addition, this meeting «can be
a change to attract more medical doctors and teams with specific expertise in the multidisciplinary
treatment of haemophilia and other congenital coagulopathies», he says.
«For APH, the Conference of the European Consortium of Haemophilia has a great value. We cannot
forget that this meeting is one of the most significant scientific events in Europe and all over the
world in this area. For us, is an honor to receive the leading experts in haemophilia and congenital
bleeding disorders in Portugal», indicates.
EHC Newsletter| NOVEMBER 2010 8