Striking a balance between national interests and patients' needs: cross-border projects meeting European challenges.

The article deals with the new opportunities for EU member state citizens to go abroad for medical treatment. The European Court of Justice has facilitated the access to medical treatment for EU citizens in other EU states. This development has worried national governments since they feared reduced control in their healthcare systems. The cross-border project "healthacross" between Austria and the Czech Republic however illustrates in which way authorities can respond to patients needs in two different countries. Nevertheless a plethora of administrative and practical problems have to be solved for cross-border co-operation in the provision of healthcare.