Cross border patient mobility within the context of health tourism in the European Union

Cross Border patient mobility within the context of health tourism in the European Union, has developed in line with the relevant global trends and in line with the specific dynamics of the EU. Although there is a clear division of authority between member states and EU institutions regarding the organisation and the financing of health care, European integration has been spilled-over to health care as a result of the integration in other policy fields and especially as an indirect result of the policy interdependencies in the internal market. This can be explained by neo-functionalist integration. The role of supra-national institutions have been determining in this process. Spill over has been followed by externalisation and politicization processes.Besides, health care which is the focus of the cross-border patient mobility is both a social right provided by the state to citizens and an economic service subject to European internal market rules. Health care systems and social security systems are protected by intense regulations and are limited to the territory of the state. On the other hand, internal market requires removal of barriers to free movement of services. This conflict makes cross border patient mobility an important issue in terms of its impact on member states.Although, full transfer of authority from national level to the EU level has not occurred in the field of health care, development of this field is not isolated from the process of European integration. In this regard, future direction of EU integration will determine the future of the cross-border patient mobility.