Updated: Jan 10, 97
1. Rationale of the Project

From the experience obtained under the Third Framework Programme it has become clear that little information is available about the overall impact of health telematics projects on the health care sector in particular and more generally on society. Strategic evaluation of the products and prototypes produced within the Health Telematics Programme according to some fairly specific criteria, would therefore constitute a first important stage of the work to be accomplished. Analysis of the results of projects according to their impact on certain more transversal issues would be a second essential element of this work. This would, for example, involve looking at economic and social impact, relationship to EU policies, quality aspects, legal and security issues and ethical issues.

Given the rapid evolution of the sector, strategic market and innovation watch represents another essential component of any attempt to obtain a wider view of impact.

The change from the Third to the Fourth Framework Programme is characterised by greater emphasis on dissemination and validation activities and a move towards implementation. The Commission is eager to promote coherence in the fragmented health telematics market by the achievement of a « critical mass ». Harnessing regional/national energies and promoting trans-European practices depends on easy access to information on available prototypes and products and their wider effects, as well as details of the state of the art in health telematics combined with a range of appropriate indicators. All this information requires to be carefully organised, attractively packaged and distributed in a professional manner using a variety of approaches including the latest technologies.

A number of particular needs have emerged clearly during the Third Framework Programme. Firstly health professionals, the end-users, require information permitting them to develop an insight into what is happening in the sector and its likely impact on their professional activities. Secondly, health policy makers need to form a broad overview of progress in health telematics to allow them to develop a coherent approach to the integration of these technologies within the overall context of health planning and management. Finally, European industry, need both general and specific information which will facilitate assessments of the maturity and market potential of specific products, of what can be directly exploited and of what might be the future impact.

It is therefore in the context of these needs that this « horizontal » approach for a Preparatory and Accompanying Measure under the Healthcare Sector of the Telematics Application Programme (Area C, Sector 7) is put forward. It will support the Health Telematics Programme, reducing the gap between the people outside and those inside, reinforcing the programme’s internal cohesion.

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