ACTIVITIES :: ICTs for Health :: Studies
Studies on eHealth issues
EU policy-makers and programme managers rely on accurate, timely information. In a fast-moving field such as eHealth, the Commission regularly orders studies on issues of significance to inform the development or review of policy.
Extensive co-operation among stakeholders in health services and the medical professions, who often have little previous experience of international co-operation, is vital if the EU is to build a European eHealth Area. Many of the problems and challenges which the health sector faces are repeated throughout Europe. Healthcare providers who co-operate to solve such problems are likely to find solutions more quickly.
The Commission’s role is to encourage and facilitate that co-operation. It uses the results of studies to help identify the common problems that Member States face, and to point the way to solutions. A genuine European eHealth Area will only come about if its architecture is developed and understood by all European stakeholders. Each year the Commission launches studies to ensure all actors can better understand the challenges facing the eHealth sector throughout the EU.
As part of the work to implement the eHealth action plan, the EU has commissioned a set of studies on issues including: the exchange of good practices in eHealth, how to address common challenges; patient identity in eHealth; legal and regulatory aspects of eHealth; and the impact of ICT on patient safety and risk management in healthcare. These studies are particularly focused on identifying specific areas of eHealth work that will concentrate EU research funding under the Seventh Framework Programme.
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| Last update by the Editor (ehealth(AT)ec.europa.eu): 05/05/08 |