The new centre will significantly improve the healthcare provision of this border area, which, owing to its location in the mountains, suffers from accessibility problems. The hospital will cater for a permanent population of 30 000, as well as influxes of over 100 000 more during holiday seasons. The hospital is planned to be ready to welcome new patients from end of 2012.

Each year in the Global Diabetes Survey, patients, primary care physicians, specialists, politicians, economists, representatives from insurance companies, in short, all diabetes-related stakeholder groups, will be invited to take the survey and submit a standardized questionnaire. The goal is to describe the quality of diabetes care in a transparent and unbiased way. The results of the survey could be used to motivate stakeholders to fix weaknesses and improve diabetes care. The annual report on the quality of diabetes care should be based on the responses from as many survey participants as possible. It is also important that each of the survey’s focus groups is represented so that survey gives a comprehensive picture of diabetes care.

The European Commission invites organisations and individuals promoting active ageing through their activities to participate in the European Year 2012 Awards. Submissions will remain open until September 1st, except for the Life Story Challenge, which will close September 16th.

With these new sites it makes in total 42 Spanish epSOS Points of Care (PoC): 33 PoC can be found on the Balearic Islands and 9 in Valencia. With those new Spanish pilot sites epSOS offers now already 70 PoC in 5 countries piloting Patient Summary & ePrescription services. Further Points of Care will follow soon, stay tuned!

The European Prize for Innovation in Public Administration will be awarded to the nine most innovative initiatives run by public authorities from across Europe that are bringing improvements to citizens' lives, helping firms and stimulating research and education. The prizes will reward excellence and innovation in successful, already running, and innovative public initiatives managed by any national, regional or local public administrations from EU Member States or Associated Countries of the Research Framework Programme. They will have made significant improvements in citizens' lives by strategies, services, networks, processes and infrastructure offered by public Administrations troughout Europe. The contest will close on 15 February 2013.

With the holiday season already starting and millions of Europeans intending on travelling within and outside the European Union, there are certain travel considerations that every European should be aware of. Whether these concern having a health insurance, resolving travel disputes with an operator, using a mobile phone abroad or even missing a child, these tips provide a useful insight into the ways in which the EU is working to help and assist EU travellers.

Greece is launching 18 new pilot sites - Since yesterday the epSOS ePrescription service can be used by citizens in need of medication in Greece (in the Athens region) coming from another country. The epSOS video and the different subpages on the epSOS website (for patients and for health professionals) explain step-by-step how to benefit by using the ePrescription service. Find the new locations in the epSOS database and check on the national subsites whether your home country offers this service or not. More Points of Care will follow soon, stay up-to-date!
Other Research Project videos

Mutations in a gene called KRAS are causally associated with acquired resistance to targeted therapies for colorectal cancers (CRC), according to new findings from EU-funded researchers from Italy and their research colleagues in the United States. Writing in the journal Nature, the team explain that patients often develop resistance to colorectal cancer drugs that target epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs).

Every year hundreds of thousands of people die because of infections that have become resistant to treatment. A new data-mining, clinical monitoring and decision-support system, developed by EU-funded researchers, offers a powerful new weapon in the war on resistance to antibiotics. According to the World Health Organisation, around 440,000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis emerge annually, causing at least 150,000 deaths. The DebugIT project developed a system to monitor antimicrobial resistance using data from different hospitals, identify trends showing which types of bacteria are becoming resistant to certain types of antibiotics, and then use that knowledge to implement courses of treatment with more effective drugs.

From 1 July 2012, using mobile internet to access maps, videos, photos, social networks and email will be much cheaper while travelling in other EU member states. A new EU regulation means that, for the first time, there will be a maximum charge for "data roaming" - downloading data from the internet when using a mobile connection. The data roaming rules will mean savings of over €1000 per year for a typical businessperson travelling in the EU. A family taking an annual holiday in another EU country can expect to save at least €200. The new rules will also cut the maximum prices for voice calls and texts.

One month after entering into operational mode for real-world exchanges of patient summaries, epSOS was back at the European Connectathon to introduce new member nations to the expanding network. check the epSOS website for complete information.

Siim Kallas, European Commission Vice-President responsible for transport and mobility, welcomed the efforts of the Danish Presidency and the outcome of today's Transport Council reaching a partial general approach on the initiative known as 'Connecting Europe Facility'. "The establishment of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is one of the key initiatives of the Commission in the context of the proposed package for delivering sustainable growth and jobs", said Kallas."I think this text presents a delicate balance within the Council and forms a fair basis for further work. It also reflects the very good coordination with discussions on the sectoral guidelines for trans-European networks, for whose implementation the CEF is crucial", he added.

For some time, we have been working to bring together everyone who needs to get involved – from doctors to medical device makers, from investors to ICT experts – to promote our vision of an innovation friendly, sustainable, affordable and high quality healthcare for all Europeans. At the end of February, we asked people to commit – in writing – to concrete actions and deliver tangible results through partnerships. The response to this invitation has been impressive. We received close to 300 hard “commitments to action”, and 60 locations willing to serve as ‘Reference Sites’ (regions, municipalities, health jurisdictions, etc.) for implementing the EIP actions.

The EU's Council of transport ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Thursday 7 June under the Danish Presidency. From the European Commission, Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport and mobility, will present agenda items on the Connecting Europe Facility, measures concerning noise restrictions in EU airports, the results of the Blue Belt Pilot project as well as the implementation of the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS).On 8th June the telecommunications part of the Council will hold an orientation debate on telecommunication guidelines and re-use of Public Sector Information (PSI). The Commission will be represented by Vice President Neelie Kroes, responsible for the Digital Agenda.

The European Commission is inviting comments on the application of EU state aid rules to the public funding of broadband networks. The key issue for discussion is how to adapt the current Guidelines to the objectives of the EU Digital Agenda. In line with the Commission's state aid modernisation package, the proposed changes aim to ensure that state aid policy in the broadband sector focusses on facilitating well-designed aid targeted at market failures and objectives of common European interest, streamlining rules and taking faster decisions. Comments on the draft guidelines should be submitted by 3 September. On the basis of the comments received, the Commission intends to adopt definitive Broadband Guidelines in December 2012.

Italian hospitals Gavardo and Manerbio have just entered the epSOS piloting phase (ePrescription and Patient Summaries)! The list of healthcare points of care willing to provide the epSOS services is growing! This is a good news as the holiday season is approaching. Take a look on the map on the epSOS website to see where you can find them. More Points of Care will follow soon, stay up-to-date! As well do not forget that you can now download the European Health Insurance Card on your smartphone!

Two new healthcare providers have just entered the epSOS piloting phase: Gavardo and Manerbio hospitals in Italy!!! Take a look on the map to see where you can find them. More Points of Care will follow soon, stay up-to-date. Good news as the holiday season stats soon!

The European Commission is proud to present the fourth edition of the EU Health Prize for Journalists. It is awarded to stimulate high-quality journalism that raises awareness of issues related to healthcare and patients' rights. The prize highlights health policy initiatives contained in the "Europe for Patients" campaign.

With your European Health Insurance Card you can access state-provided healthcare if you fall ill or have an accident during your stay abroad. Show your card to a doctor or at the hospital and you will receive the necessary treatment under the same conditions as people insured in that country. As well, if you need a refill of your medication while abroad check the ePrescription services offered by epSOS. Read "Semantic interoperability needs political commitment" for recent information http://bit.ly/KcyzHA.

#DA12 More than 450 members are now discussing on the online discussion platform which Neelie Kroes launched on 19 April. Outcomes of this debate, and the feedback which we pick up from other platforms, will contribute to the next meeting of the Digital Agenda Assembly (Brussels, 21-22 June, plenary programme recently updated online) and to the review of the Digital Agenda for Europe (to be adopted later in the year). The members making the most interesting contributions in each group, as assessed by the other members of the group, will be invited to the meeting in Brussels. Amongst others, there is an online discussion group on innovation and entrepreneurs looking at supporting start-ups, including the possibility of a European public-private partnership to support web entrepreneurs inspired on the US "Startup America" initiative. There is another debate on innovation funding and "Horizon 2020" (the recent proposal for EC financial support for research and innovation), where a position paper is open for comments, and a debate on developing a "Social Media Strategy for Europe" with special focus on SMEs. A "digital innovation charter" is also being crowd-sourced by the members of the group. If you are interested in these or other issues discussed in the platform, join at http://daa.ec.europa.eu