What have the best brains of Europe come up with to improve health care with the help of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)? This document offers an overview of the most current (ongoing or recently finished) European funded projects in the field of ICT for health and wellbeing (eHealth). The projects listed here have been divided in three types: research projects, innovation projects and projects related to interoperability - meaning the ability of systems and organizations to work together.

This guide aims to take you on a special journey through Europe: a tour of regions, cities and communities where you can see innovation for active and healthy ageing in real life. Now we know where to go when we need inspiring real-life examples of active and healthy ageing. We can finally see what we mean when, for example, we talk about 'integrated care', 'independent living' or 'age friendly environments'. And we know how great the variety of technologies, services and approaches that help us make these visions a reality is.

EU Health Ministers, meeting in Dublin at the Ministerial eHealth High Level Conference organised jointly by the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, today agreed a Declaration on eHealth presented by the Irish Presidency. The Declaration is aimed at prioritising the use of ICT in health among Member States to contribute to better, safer, sustainable and innovative healthcare systems for all European citizens.

European society is inexorably shifting in form and nature, influenced by powerful factors, including an ageing population, climate change, an uncertain economic situation, globalisation and lightening-speed technological change. In these circumstances, making the best, and most effective, use of resources - human, financial, material - is not merely desirable, it is absolutely essential.

The European Commission is creating the right conditions for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, through the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) and the EU's new Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020.

The study on the eHealth Interoperability Framework, financed by the European Commission and conducted by Deloitte Consulting, has been finalised. The study defines a vision of an EU eHealth Interoperability Framework with four levels: technical, semantic, organisational and legal. It also assesses some technical specifications from the epSOS interoperability framework and from two consortia, IHE and Continua Health Alliance, against the identification criteria of the annex II of the Regulation on European Standardization.

Transatlantic eHealth/Health IT Cooperation Roadmap has the vision to support an innovative collaborative community of public- and private-sector entities, including suppliers of eHealth solutions, working toward the shared objective of developing, deploying, and using eHealth science and technology to empower individuals, support care, improve clinical outcomes, enhance patient safety and improve the health of populations.

Europe is ageing and that comes with challenges, both social and economic. The number of people aged 65+ in Europe will almost double, from 85 to 151 million in 2060. Living longer is great, but it is also a formidable challenge for both public and private budgets, for public services and for older people and their families. New approaches and solutions are needed urgently and you should be aware of them. Start today with 'Active and Healthy Ageing' and care for your health. The EU is working on new solutions for the problems that demographic ageing brings.