Radiology department goes filmless at Rotterdam's St Franciscus Hospital
Rotterdam – Philips Medical Systems (Philips), a division of Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHI), yesterday officially began the delivery of its iSite Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) service to the St Franciscus Hospital in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The service lets doctors read studies – including clinical images – from anywhere in the hospital, increasing productivity and the quality of patient care.

TietoEnator will provide the Finnish Defence Forces with a centralised patient information system. The system will be used for conscripts' appointments as well as in occupational healthcare, and it will replace the previously used garrison based system.

"We are one of the five leading practice networks in Germany in the areas of management, structures, and IT, and we are proud to have received the highest ratings in all categories"; that is how Dr. Elmar Schmid, Initiator of the physicians' network Patient-Partner Association, expresses his joy at the excellent showing of his network in the University of Erlangen's Practice Network Study 2006. The study examined the degree of maturity of physicians' networks with regard to strategic, process-oriented, and information technology factors. The Patient-Partner Association, which uses the web-based personal health record LifeSensor, did particularly well in the areas of IT and communication, among others.

The information and communication technology (ICT) sector is a key contributor to growth in the EU. Meeting for the first time yesterday, the new Task Force – launched by the European Commission – will tackle barriers to competition and the competitiveness of the ICT sector. The ICT Task Force is composed of high-level representatives of the ICT industry and of civil society. This is one of several Commission initiatives that aim to help create a more favourable environment for business in the EU.

The European Parliament has adopted the first "Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme" (CIP). Between 2007 and 2013, some 350,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will receive € 3.6 billion in EU support to invest in all forms of innovation and growth. The new programme will support actions to help enterprises and industry to innovate. It will also boost energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, environmental technologies and a better use of information and communication technology (ICT). The final adoption in Council will follow in the coming weeks.

The Bundesknappschaft hospital in Bochum-Langendreer, Germany, cares for a large number of patients and subsequently generates a lot of information. TietoEnator's easy-to-use hospital information system, iMedOne, is therefore vital for staff to be able to devote more time to their patients.

Businesses, individuals and public administrations in Europe still underestimate the risks of insufficiently protecting networks and information. Security presently represents only around 5-13% of IT expenditure, which is alarmingly low. The Commission is therefore promoting greater awareness, in a policy document adopted today, through an open and inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue on a new IT Security Strategy for Europe. A partnership amongst Member States, involving the IT industry and users as well as the European network security agency ENISA should lead to more trustworthy, secure and reliable information and communication technologies. People and organisations must be empowered to look after their own interests and responsibilities.