 Europe lays out plan for
healthcare IT
The European Commission this week announced a proposal to implement
healthcare IT across Europe, which includes electronic medical records,
patient ID and health cards and faster Internet services for health systems
to support IT applications. As part of the goal to establish a "European
eHealth Area," the proposal recommends that by 2005, a European Union public
health portal should offer access to health information and each member
state should develop plans for IT adoption.
By 2006, a common plan should be in place to implement patient
identification and standards for patient data exchange among health care
networks, the proposal states. By 2008, health information systems should be
widespread and deliver services over fixed and wireless broadband networks.
Grid computing should be used to increase the capabilities of these
networks. At least four out of five European physicians have an Internet
connection, and one out of four Europeans obtain health information online.
Health information programs in Denmark and the United Kingdom, as well as
the EU's European Health Card for obtaining care in other member states,
represent some of the healthcare IT initiatives already underway. Since the
early 1990s, the EU has provided more than $600m in healthcare IT research
funding, with an equal amount coming from matching funds. Estimates indicate
that 5% of health budgets in Europe will go toward IT systems and services
by 2020.
The IT proposal was the third EC action on healthcare this month. The
commission also announced plans for patient mobility and benchmarking for
national health reforms (EC press release, 5/3) eHealth: better health and
healthcare through the use of information and communications technologies
Brussels, 3 May 2004 eHealth: better health and healthcare through the use
of information and communications technologies An action plan just adopted
by the European Commission shows how information and communication
technologies can be used to deliver better quality health care Europe-wide.
The 'eHealth action plan' covers everything from electronic prescriptions
and computerised health records to using new systems and services to cut
waiting times and reduce errors. The proposals will contribute to better
care at the same or lower cost. The action plan sets out the objective of a
"European e-Health Area" and identifies practical steps to get there through
work on electronic health records, patient identifiers and health cards, and
the faster rollout of high-speed Internet access for health systems to allow
the full potential of eHealth to be delivered. To add momentum Member States
should develop national and regional eHealth strategies and work needs to
progress to allow measurement of the impact of eHealth technologies on the
quality and efficiency of services, as well as overall productivity. By the
end of the decade, eHealth will become commonplace for health professionals,
patients and citizens. The action plan is the third element of the
Commission's recent activities in the health area (IP/04/508). The two other
activities address patient mobility and the benchmarking of national reforms
in health care, long-term care and social protection.
Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said: "The
challenges facing health care in Europe today require a bold response. The
greater use of technologies and services — such as the Internet — as a
partner in improving health care must be encouraged. This plan helps us to
do this because new technologies and services make access faster and easier,
reduce errors, and improve the effectiveness of health care systems. This
area that covers both healthcare and eHealth technologies is where Europe
and European business is strong, and these strengths must be further
supported."
Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne added: "Patients
will benefit from the use of information and communication technologies in
healthcare. With the adoption of the eHealth action plan yet another element
is in place to address the many issues that confront health services
throughout the EU. This Thursday I will meet with Health Ministers of the
Member States at the e-Health Ministerial conference in Cork where we will
discuss ways to make the most of technology to improve the quality,
availability and effectiveness of care in Europe."
Today at least four out of five European doctors have an Internet
connection, and a quarter of Europeans use the Internet to get information
about illnesses and health matters. But e-Health tools or solutions include
products, systems and services that go beyond simply Internet-based
applications.
Patients need to contact their family doctors, doctors need to talk to
hospitals, and hospitals need to interact with clinics and research centres,
all with the aim of providing better care for patients and effective
solutions for health care systems.
There are plenty of examples of eHealth in action in the Member States.
Health information networks, such as Denmark's medcom, are supporting the
work of hospitals, pharmacies, on-call doctors, general practitioners,
laboratories, and local authorities (http://www.medcom.dk/
 ). It can deliver
substantial savings in hospital costs, speed up treatment and diagnosis and
help to reduce the risk of medical errors. Six million people have accessed
the UK's NHS Direct Online in two years to get health-related information.
Europe is also at the forefront of the use of electronic health records
in primary care and deployment of health (smart) cards, including the recent
introduction of an European Health Card to make it easier to obtain
treatment in other EU Member States. Slovenia is a pace setter among the new
Member States in this area
www.zzzs.si/kzz/ang/hic_indx.htm
European Community research funding has supported e-Health to the tune of
€500 million since the early 1990s, with total investment due to
co-financing being around twice that amount. Many of today's success stories
have emerged from that research. All this has helped to create a new
e-Health industry with a turnover of €11 billion. By 2010, estimates suggest
that up to 5% of health budgets will be invested in eHealth systems and
services.
Now, new and concrete actions will be taken forward as part of the action
plan:
By 2005 Member State should develop their own roadmaps for e-Health,
and an EU public health portal should be up and running to provide a
one-stop shop access to health information.
By 2006 work should be well advanced on key issues such as developing a
common approach to data allowing patients to be identified and putting
standards in place which mean that all the different parts of healthcare
networks can talk to each other and read and exchange patient information.
By 2008 health information networks should be commonplace, delivering
services over fixed and wireless broadband networks and making the most of
networks within so called "Grids" to boost computing power and the
interaction between different systems. This action plan is only part of
the EU's response to the broad challenges that health services across the
EU are facing. Two further examples announced earlier in April (IP/04/508)
included action on patient mobility and the benchmarking of national
reforms of health care systems. The Action Plan comes during the week when
Ministers and the Commission will meet in Cork at the eHealth Ministerial
Conference to discuss a range of eHealth issues and showcase best practice
and practical examples of eHealth solutions. It will also be the occasion
to announce the 2004 eHealth awards which go to the best projects underway
in this area.
For further information on eHealth see:
europa.eu.int/information_society/qualif/health/index_en.htm
For further information on the eHealth Ministerial Conference see:
www.ehealthconference2004.ie
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