Directive 2011/24/EU: The application of patients’ rights regarding cross-border healthcare

Mobility freedoms as an element at the base of the European Union's policy is nowadays also of fundamental importance in health matters. In fact, the phenomenon of the so-called healthcare mobility is increasingly common, so that more and more EU citizens require medical services in a Member State other than their own. Therefore, in order to fully protect the right to health from a supranational and international level, a community discipline is necessary to provide the full guarantee of this fundamental right. The Directive 2011/24/EU is the starting point with which to build a European health system as interoperable as it is efficient to guarantee the citizen the opportunity to move freely within the single market and demand the health care of which he is entitled in reasonable time and according to high quality and safety standards.