18 July 2025

Supply and demand: European doctors’ summer magazine focuses on health workforce and prevention

We are pleased to present the Standing Committee of European Doctors’ (CPME) summer magazine, which opens with a letter from our President, Dr Ole Johan Bakke, who outlines that investing in health must be part of Europe’s competitive edge. Ultimately, investing in health is not a cost, but a long-term investment in the EU’s future, promoting equity, resilience, and shared prosperity.

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The two main themes of the magazine are the ongoing health workforce crisis and the need for prevention to ease pressure on the health system. The editorial by CPME Vice President Dr Andreas Botzlar warns that when the health workforce breaks, the system follows. He urges EU institutions and national authorities to seize this moment to move beyond declarations and deliver the concrete, coordinated strategies and investments needed to support Europe’s healthcare professionals and ensure high-quality care for all patients.

We include an in-depth report our high-level conference at the European Parliament, “Solutions for the European Health Workforce Crisis” generously hosted by MEP Dr András Kulja and MEP Tilly Metz, sharing four take-home messages and providing the views of the hosting MEPs who emphasised that the health workforce crisis is a shared problem across European countries and need to establish common solutions.

The most sustainable healthcare is the reduced need for healthcare. Investing in prevention can significantly reduce the burden on the health workforce by decreasing the number of people who require intensive medical care.

In this issue, three guest articles provide a view on action on how to stop illness before it starts. The first two articles focus on alcohol harm, through the recently launched European Health Alliance on Alcohol, and an update on the progress of Ireland’s Public Health Bill from the Irish Medical Organisation. Thirdly, the Helmholtz Association provides a forward-looking perspective on prevention medicine research.

Our EU Policy Adviser, Diogo Teixeira Pereira, provides an article explaining why paper medicine package leaflets matter to patients and calling for them to be maintained by pharmaceutical companies in the paper format, and the electronic format should be a complementary tool.

Finally, FEMS President Dr Alessandra Spedicato writes about doctors in the digital age: rights, protections and the role of trade unions. She provides a perspective on why emerging technologies will require trade unions to work with teams of doctors, unionists, legal experts and AI specialists to ensure quality and safety of care — for both patients and practitioners.