eHealth ministerial Conferences

The forthcoming Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union together with the European Commission is to hold the 10th High Level eHealth Conference in Copenhagen from 7th to 9th May 2012 within the eHealth week 2012 together with the World of Health IT conference and exhibition. Since 2003, it represents an important annual milestone in the field of ICT for healthcare. eHealth is a recognised tool to enhance the modernisation of national healthcare systems. Europe at national as well as cross-border level is facing challenges such as ageing society, chronic disease management, patient and professional mobility, health professional shortages, that eHealth could help to improve.

The themes will touch different aspects relevant to European Union and Member States concerns in how innovative ICT solutions can address healthcare issues such as efficient support of chronically ill, patient empowerment, cross-border healthcare, Active and Healthy Ageing.
 

Press Releases

• eHealth Week 2012 focuses on the continuity of care and patient centric health services through the use of innovative eHealth solutions [DK] [EN] [ES] [FR] [DE] (05.09.2011)

to follow : www.twitter.com/EU_eHealthWeek : #eHW12 - www.youtube.com/user/eHealthWeek -  www.facebook.com/eu.ehealthweek

to follow Neelie Kroes: http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/neelie-kroes

eHealth Ministerial Conference 2011 "eHealth: Investing in Health Systems of the Future" - Budapest, Hungary

The 9th edition of the High-level eHealth conference took place 10-12 May in Budapest, Hungary within the eHealth week "eHealth: Investing in Health Systems of the Future" together with the World of Health IT conference and exhibition.

eHealth Week 2011 brought together key stakeholders from Europe’s healthcare field; from the policy makers, to providers, insurances, research facilities, vendors as well as patient associations and NGOs.

It welcomed the first meeting of the eHealth Task Force (high level advisors to the European Commission on eHealth chaired by President Ilves from Republic of Estonia) and hosted the eHealth Government Initiative, a formal body of healthcare state secretaries aimed at aligning national eHealth systems in Europe.

• Speakers
  • Neelie Kroes Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda eHealth: challenges and opportunities for the future Opening of the Ministerial eHealth Conference Budapest, 10 May 2011 (Speech 11/318 - 10/05/2011)
  • Speakers Presentations
• Satellite events
  • European Regions at the forefront of eHealth workshop presentations, video-interviews of speakers
  • Developing Ideas for the Active and Healthy Ageing Innovation Partnership workshop presentations, video-interviews of speakers
  • IMI Stakeholders' forum presentations
• Articles, Photos, Videos
  • Articles on the Ministerial Conference
  • Articles covering eHealth Week: Ministerial conference, WoHIT conference and exhibition, satellite events
  • eHealth Week live tickers Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3
  • eHealth Week pictures (free to use)
  • eHealth Week video - eHealth activities at the EU
• Press Releases
  • Digital Agenda: EU Task Force to advise how to promote eHealth to help patients and healthcare systems in Europe (IP/11/551 - 10/05/2011) in 22 languages
  • Digital Agenda: Kroes and Dalli welcome Council Presidency eHealth Declaration on delivering better health care (MEMO/11/287 - 11/05/2011)
  • Digital Agenda: eHealth survey shows most hospitals online but telemedicine services not fully deployed (MEMO/11/282 - 10/05/2011)
  • Time to act: Delegates at eHealth Week 2011 call on Member States to implement eHealth solutions  [EN] [FR] [DE] [ES] [IT] [PL]
  • eHealth Week 2011: Information Technology provides a cure for Europe’s mounting healthcare costs  [EN] [HU] [FR] [DE] [ES] [IT] [PL] (12.04.2011)
  • Keynote Speakers at eHealth Week 2011 Call for Significant IT Investments in Health Systems of the Future [EN] [HU] [FR] [DE] [ES] [IT] [PL]
  • European eHealth Week 2011 Confirms Participation of Prominent Organizations, Partners, Exhibitors and Country Pavilions (17/02/2011) [EN] [HU] [FR] [DE] [ES] [IT] [PL]
  • European eHealth Week 2011: Registration opens; strong support from leading hospitals and associations [EN] [HU] [FR] [DE] [ES] [IT] [PL]
  • Announcement of the European eHealth week  [EN] [FR] [DE] [ES] [IT] [PL] (22/11/2010)

• EC funded projects demonstrations (booth n°311): epSOS ePrescription - epSOS patient summary (10-12/05), Passport (11/05), euHeart (12/05)
• Post-conference brochure
• Onsite Guide
• Additional relevant information: Recent Council Conclusions on Health (Dec. 2010)
• Hungarian Presidency's website - eHealth Week
• to follow eHealth Week: www.twitter.com/EU_eHealthWeek  - www.youtube.com/user/eHealthWeek -  www.facebook.com/eu.ehealthweek

eHealth High Level Conference 2010 "eHealth for sustainable healthcare: global changes through local actions" - Barcelona, Spain

From 15 to 18 March 2010 the Ministry of Health of Spain and the Regional Government of Catalonia in cooperation with the European Commission organised a ministerial Conference in Barcelona.

It was co-located with the World of Health IT conference and exhibition. The eHealth week welcomed more than 3.100 participants, 95 exhibitors and 150 press, radio or TV journalists.

High-level eHealth conferences organised by the presiding countries since 2003 represent important annual milestones in this specific field. Spain  therefore carried on the tradition and hosted this Conference in Barcelona as a part of its presidency in the first half of 2010.

The eighth in a series of annual conferences aimed to support dissemination of eHealth best practices. It included presentations of the latest technologies in on-line health, tools, applications and the best practices. A platform, via the exhibition show, was provided to encourage the development of on-line health services in Europe. The politicians, health administrators, researchers and suppliers, along with health professionals, met to share their experiences and to discover what is new in this fast-evolving area.

With the motto: “eHealth for sustainable healthcare: global changes through local actions”, this eighth edition of the eHealth ministerial conference acknowledged the urgent perspective of a rapidly ageing European society, the lack of prevention and prediction of illnesses, the growing demand for quality attention, the lack of electronic health and the interoperability of the systems (regionally, nationally and internationally).

Increased life expectancy and the consequent increase in the prevalence of chronic illnesses pose serious challenges to the sustainability of the national health systems. The conference aimed tp present how and why on-line health may be the solution to facing this world challenge.

- 2010 Barcelona - Conference Declaration

- A new era in eHealth - Speech by Commissioner Kroes at the eHealth Conference 2010 in Barcelona, 15th March 2010

- Celebration of the 20 years of eHealth at the European Commission during the Forum of the Regions - The European Commission has been supporting eHealth research and development through Framework Programmes for over 20 years now and contributed to the emergence of new generations of technologies in several fields of healthcare. With the support of the Member States, industries and users it has elaborated a strategy of deployment of these technologies to ensure ever improving and sustainable health services.

For more information:

- High level eHealth conference (by invitation only)

  * Presentations of the different sessions

- World of Health IT conference and exhibition

- eHealth week conference on-site guide (pdf)

- eHealth Projects presented and discussed their results [Health-e-Child, epSOS, @neurIST, CALLIOPE, METABO, EU-ADR]

From 18 to 20 February 2009 the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the European Commission organized a ministerial Conference “eHealth for Individuals, Society and Economy”.

High-level eHealth conferences organized by the presiding countries since 2003 represent important annual milestones in this specific field. The Czech Republic therefore plans to carry on the tradition and host this Conference in Prague as a part of its presidency in the first half of 2009.

The seventh in a series of annual conferences organized since 2003 aims to support dissemination of eHealth best practices. As the title itself implies, the Conference will mainly be focused on eHealth in relation to:

• Individuals (report)
• Society (report)
• Economy (report).

For individuals, eHealth brings new possibilities in terms of increasing quality and effectiveness of services. eHealth provides completely new methods of treatment chronic or rare diseases. In the European context, it can facilitate implementation of cross-border healthcare and contribute to continuity of care.

For society, eHealth means a challenge for interoperability, e-literacy, and accessibility of new technologies. It is a great opportunity for research and development.

For economy, eHealth offers solutions that can bring enormous savings. If properly deployed, eHealth can contribute to the transformation of the health sector, substantially change the business models of healthcare facilities, and impact the behaviour of health insurance institutions.

The aim of the Conference is to bring together and share European best practices touching all above mentioned topics. Good eHealth is an integral part of fulfilling goals mentioned in “Decision No 1350/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 establishing a Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health (2008-13)”, such as, e.g.:

• improve safety of public health; support to people’s health;
• dissemination of information about health;
• improve public awareness about the health care sector;
• collection, analysis, and evaluation of medical information.

- Prague Conference declaration

- Legally Telemedicine workshop

The conference highlighted solutions to eliminate various barriers in European healthcare. These barriers are either geographical ones, like those between healthcare providers, regions and states, or communication difficulties among the various players in healthcare systems which include users, healthcare workers, management, and regional and national authorities.

The programme focused mostly on topics which contribute to connecting eHealth tools and users:

- between places, cities, regions and countries and

- between all players in healthcare (citizens, patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare providers, health insurance providers, public health actors, educational and research institutions, and public authorities)

The conference aimed:

- to demonstrate opportunities, achievements and challenges of the implementation of electronic healthcare, and

- to define as clearly as possible future directions for the further development of eHealth in Europe.

• Conference Declaration

The April 2007 eHealth Week was held during Germany’s presidency of the EU and combined European and national events. The Week focused on potential solutions for 'interoperable cross-border processes' and 'pan-European electronic services', such as standardised electronic documentation and patient records, as well as preparations made by organisations across Europe for their implementation.
At the eHealth 2007 conference, representatives of EU Member States, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein adopted a common declaration. They agreed to pursue close interaction and collaboration in the area of cross-border electronic health services throughout Europe.

• Conference Declaration

Under the title ‘eHealth and health policies: synergies for better health in a Europe of regions’, this conference was devoted to the role that eHealth plays at regional level across Europe. “The advance of eHealth applications and projects and the wider level of implementation along the Member States oblige policy-makers and other stakeholders to assess carefully future developments, taking into account the need to build seamless informational networks across borders in regions and countries”, the conference’s website states.

eHealth developments are improving the possibilities for European citizens to access quality healthcare, regardless of their personal condition or geographical location. eHealth is facilitating mobility, and allowing patients to access appropriate health resources based on equal opportunity and informed choice.

• Rising to the challenges of eHealth across Europe's regions

eHealth ministerial conference 2005 "Better use of technology can improve healthcare, empower patients and save lives"- Tromso, Norway

Better use of technology can improve healthcare, empower patients and save lives. Success stories presented at the 2005 eHealth conference showed that EU research and technology initiatives are reaping rewards for society. The conference addressed eHealth services in three areas, including facilitating mobility, making health services more responsive to the needs of patients, and improving health information.

A year after the adoption of the EU’s eHealth action plan, the European Commission called on governments to make better use of ICTs in healthcare services. “The European approach to eHealth should be about spending euros on patients, not on paperwork,” concluded Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media.

• Conference conclusions

Hosted by the Irish Presidency of the European Union, the ‘Empowering the European Citizen through eHealth’ conference, reviewed developments in eHealth in the year since the May 2003 Ministerial Declaration. The demonstration of tools and services, along with the second eEurope Awards for eHealth, provided further first-hand opportunity to see the scope of the latest eHealth applications. The event emphasised the benefits of citizen empowerment through eHealth solutions such as information, administration, homecare and telemedicine.

• Executive summary

‘The contribution of ICT to Health’: this first conference brought together ministers and stakeholders from professional and user organisations, to gain an overall understanding of the development of eHealth applications and services in order to better direct this fast-developing sector. The conference sought to reinforce the implementation and deployment of eHealth systems by European health-service providers. An exhibition of eHealth applications enabled real-time demonstrations of working tools, such as computer-assisted medical interventions and virtual environments for healthcare. The first eEurope Awards in eHealth were given to the best of the applications demonstrated.

• Ministerial Declaration