A new platform launched by the European Commission will improve the safety of patients that undergo medical treatment involving blood and blood products. National health authorities can use the web-based Rapid Alert system for Blood and Blood Components (RAB) that allows them to exchange information so that cross-border incidents are prevented or contained and immediate measures can be taken to ensure the safety of patients.

A remarkable number of results have been generated by research and innovation projects in the domains of eHealth, Active Ageing and Independent Living. HAIVISIO project aims at helping those projects to set a common strategy for joint dissemination and exploitation activities, through the organization of events and training courses and the facilitation of an online community.

Medical diagnostics is searching for substances capable of documenting early on whether a serious disease is developing or what its course will be. In many cases, the treacherous molecules are present only in trace amounts - which is why extremely sensitive methods of detection are urgently needed. Now, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), along with scientists from Potsdam and Berlin, have come up with a new method of detection, which has allowed them to notice the presence of only 17 dye molecules.

Neelie Kroes welcomed the support of the European Parliament for the eHealth Action Plan which address barriers to the full use of digital solutions in Europe's healthcare systems. MEPs voted on a resolution in support of the plan to improve healthcare for the benefit of patients, give patients more control of their care and bring down costs.

Valuable information produced by researchers in many EU-funded projects will be shared freely as a result of a Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020. Researchers in projects participating in the pilot are asked to make the underlying data needed to validate the results presented in scientific publications and other scientific information available for use by other researchers, innovative industries and citizens.

The European Commission has found German plans to support the setup of a platform for telemedicine services in eastern Saxony in line with EU state aid rules. The platform will allow providing medical services at a distance where the actors, for instance doctors and patients, cannot meet in the same location. The Commission concluded that, in line with EU objectives, the aid will make medical care more accessible for citizens, without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.

Europe remains a main knowledge production centre of the world, but lags behind North America and Asia in fast-growing technologies of the future. This is a key conclusion of the latest Innovation Union Competitiveness Report. While Europe continues to lead science and technology for aeronautics, automobiles, clean transport, waste management and renewable energy, the report shows that it risks falling behind in other emerging global growth markets such as health and biotechnology.