Goals of work: To present the process of palliative care implementation into the health care system in an Eastern European country.
Method: Analysis of cooperation of different policy-makers and analysis of role of the national PC Association (HHPA) as an NGO in this process.
Results: After 10 years of existing PC education system, 8 years of existing national PC Association, 5 years of existing law about the PC and 2 years of existing PC standards the 27 Hungarian PC services have not have financial support from the NHS yet. Changing the strategy, HHPA has started an offensive and successful media campaign with human rights and patients rights organisations in 2003 to initiate a parliamentary examination in this field. The second step: make accept the minimum standards by the National Health Insurance Fund and integrate and finance PC by a pilot project to July of 2004.
Conclusions: The official way is not enough, sometimes the campaigns and the NGO’s actions are more effective. The role of the national PC Association should be very important in the mediation among the different policy-makers and NGO-s.