Representatives of CED Member and Observer organisations met in Valletta, Malta on 26-27 May 2017 for the regular biannual General Meeting under the chairmanship of the CED President Dr. Marco Landi. The meeting was hosted by the Maltese Dental Association in the context of the Maltese EU Council Presidency.

CED CODE OF ETHICS
The CED adopted the revised Code of Ethics that takes into account national codes and the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation. First adopted in 1965 and regularly amended, the CED Code of Ethics contains agreed guiding principles for professional conduct and ethics of dentists, which underpin high quality of dental care throughout Europe. It covers the commitment to the patient and the public, the practice of the profession and electronic commerce.

CED Code of Ethics

CED POSITION ON PROPORTIONALITY TEST FOR REGULATED PROFESSIONS
The CED opposes the inclusion of healthcare professions in the proposed Directive on a proportionality test before the adoption of regulations for professions. Together with other healthcare professions, the CED calls for the exclusion of healthcare professions from this Directive, as public health and patient safety are put at risk with this approach. EU legislation and EU case law have established the special status of healthcare services over the years and the competence of Member States to determine the level of protection they want to afford to public health.

We welcomed MEP Dr Roberta Metsola who addressed the assembly and shared the healthcare professions’ concerns about this proposal and called for the exclusion of healthcare professions at the recent European Parliament exchange of views with the European Commission. She emphasised that healthcare is fundamentally different from other services and should therefore not be dealt with by means of the same instrument.

The CED Position was unanimously adopted and clearly lays out why healthcare professions should be excluded.

CED Position on the Proposal for a Directive on a Proportionality Test Before Adoption of New Regulation of Professions

RESOLUTION ON THE DENTIST OF THE FUTURE
The profile of the future dentist is constantly evolving and the expected competences and skills need to be updated and new ones created. The Resolution that was unanimously adopted by the CED members describes the competences and skills that dentists will need to overcome the future challenges of the profession. The ultimate objective of the future dentist is to be competent in managing traditional as well as new challenges in oral health, and they must be able to practice evidence-based, comprehensive dentistry independently, in group practice and in close collaboration with other health professionals, safeguarding ethics and patient safety.

CED Resolution on the Profile of the Dentist of the Future

THE EU SKILLS AGENDA
The members adopted the revised mandate of the Working Group Education and Professional Qualifications. As part of the new mandate the Working Group will cover the EU Skills Agenda, monitor the developments of new challenges and trends affecting the profession and continue to discuss the strategy for the future revision of the V.3/5.3.1 of Directive 2005/36/EC.

DIGITILISATION AND ePRESCRIPTIONS
The revised mandate of the Working Group eHealth includes a focus on monitoring and guiding ePrescriptions as well as monitoring digitalisation in general, and the data information exchange and link to dental practices and third parties in particular.