Search
Mobility of health professionals
The in- and outflows of health professionals change the composition of the health workforce in both source and destination countries, and may improve or aggravate health workforce problems. Such problems may extend to shortages, mal-distribution and skill-mismatches of health professionals, all of which can have immediate consequences for the efficiency and equity a health system.
In the European Union, EU health professionals are free to move and seek work in any Member State. Intra-EU mobility is increasing; some countries rely on foreign inflows while other Member States experience significant outflows. At the global level, the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel calls on countries to mitigate the negative effects of migration and encourage positive ones.
The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies work programme embraces the comprehensive research on the mobility of health professionals and includes:
- Country case studies that allows for an in-depth and contextualized analysis of the causes and consequences of mobility;
- Thematic research that analyses the broader aspects of health professional mobility across countries;
- Frameworks that help to understand the ethical and efficiency trade-offs of health professional mobility;
- Opportunities for cross-border collaboration on issues including mobility in the health workforce.
Health and care workforce topics
Related publications
12 July 2015
How can countries address the efficiency and equity implications of health professional mobility in Europe?
The health workforce is a key contributor to health system performance. Shortages, maldistribution and skill-mismatches of health professionals can have...
4 February 2014
Health professional mobility in a changing Europe: new dynamics, mobile individuals and diverse responses
Health professional mobility in Europe has become a fast-moving target for policy-makers. It is evolving rapidly in direction and magnitude as a consequence...
The mobility of health professionals affects the performance of health systems, and increasingly so since the European Union (EU) enlargements...
28 March 2011
Cross-border health care in the European Union: mapping and analysing practices and policies
Cross-border health care is a growing phenomenon in the European Union. When in need of medical treatment, patients increasingly act as informed consumers...
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign Up