Cross-border healthcare: Implementation of Directive 2011/24/EU and National Contact Point in Italy

Authors start with an observation that as global travel continues to grow, with international tourist arrivals reaching 1.1 billion in 2014, the number of travelers becoming ill during or after travel could also increase. In context of global travel increase, we would mention that in 2011, European Union adopted the Directive 2011/24/EU on the application of patients' rights in cross-border healthcare, that established the rights of patients in Europe to receive healthcare in another member state and the right to reimbursement for it [However, the overall number of patients using cross-border healthcare services is still relatively low compared to the overall use of healthcare services in the European Union. This is probably due to the fact that people still know very little about the potentials of cross-border healthcare and their confidence in this type of care is still perhaps low.