e-Health Ministerial declaration - 22 March 2003
in the light of e-Europe 2005 Action Plan

e-Health Ministerial declaration - 22 March 2003

Source:  e-Europe site

The impact of e-Health is, as diverse as the sector itself, encompassing the quality of health-related Web content, patient data security, "telemedicine" technologies, tackling administrative headaches for hospital staff, doctors and patients, and much more.

European Challenges

Realising these benefits, however, will be a complex affair. Healthcare systems are immensely complicated, both in terms of organisation and technology, and health data is particularly sensitive, so individuals health information must be protected. 

Many of these issues, such as data privacy and public health, have a European dimension. Health authorities throughout Europe can also learn from each others experience, while coordinating research and development across Europe will help accelerate the development of new e-Health technologies. Meeting the eEurope goal of getting modern e-health services online by 2005 therefore requires top-level political commitment, as seen by the series of European Ministerial Conferences. The first conference took place in Brussels, Belgium, in July 2003, with the second planned for 2004 in Ireland. Providers of Europes best e-Health solutions, selected through a Call for Applications, exhibit at each conference, with the most outstanding receiving the e-Health Awards.

Setting the Targets

In addition to these Conferences, the eEurope 2005 Action Plan sets out a number of policies and targets for both the European Commission and EU Member States if this ambitious goal is to be met:

• Electronic Health Cards: The European health insurance card will be adopted in 2008, replacing the paper-based forms citizens need for health treatment when in other Member States. The eEurope 2005 target is to build upon this, using Commission proposals for a common approach to patient identifiers and electronic health record architecture, and create an European electronic health card

Such cards could feature added functionalities, such as medical emergency data and secure access to personal health information. Combined with other developments, this could bring greater efficiency to health information management, continuity of care across Europe, and greater security and control for users over their health data.

• Online Services: Another eEurope 2005 target is that Member States and the Commission should ensure that citizens can access online health services (information on healthy living and illness prevention, electronic health records, teleconsultation and e-reimbursement, etc.) by the end of 2005. There is no shortage of interest - health-related information is one of the top searches on the Internet, so the quality of health information on the Internet must be ensured. Hence the Communication on Quality Criteria for Health Related Websites, which proposes a quality framework for these websites. 

The Commission will monitor the Member States activities in both making health information accessible and implementing these quality criteria (see link??), and may develop some health-related online services (e.g. air and water quality information) to the European level through the eTEN programme. A public health portal to improve the public health information in the EU is also planned.

• Health Information Networks: Health Information Networks aim to speed the flow of health information through the healthcare system, so they range in nature from local hospital-doctor-patient networks through to Europe-wide systems for spotting emerging health threats. They are therefore a crucial infrastructure for eHealth. 

Under the eEurope 2005 action plan, Member States are to develop these networks between points of care (hospitals, laboratories and homes), rolling out broadband connectivity where required. The Commission is working in parallel at the European level, focusing on public health data and coordinating actions for Europe-wide rapid reactions to health threats. 

Additional Links, Further Reading

• European Research: The European Commission has been supporting R&D into health telematics for over 10 years through the IST programme and its predecessors. Example results to date include integrated regional health information networks, standardised electronic health records, reliable and effective telemedicine services (teleconsultation and home telemonitoring) as well as personal systems for citizens to support and manage their health status;

• Other important actions already underway include improving the use of telematics in the community pharmaceutical regulatory system, such as Eudravigilance (medicine safety), the Europharm Database and e-submission between regulatory authorities and industry.