Common and widespread Internet access changes the relationship between patients and health care providers, both in areas with well-developed and less developed care systems. The future of efficient healthcare relies on the competent, informed and self-caring patient.
The conference is formerly known as the International Affiliates Meeting and after we have met in Dresden (Germany) in 2000, then Reading (United Kingdom), Melbourne (Australia), Daegu (Korea), Acapulco (Mexico) and last year in Taipei (Taiwan) we will now meet late August in Cologne.
The World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition promises to be a first of its kind event, attracting leaders and experts in health IT from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
First Calls for proposals under the EU's FP7 are expected at the end of 2006. Technical scope, participation rules and administrative procedures are all currently under discussion and negotiation between the Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Member States.
This four-day event will gather clinicians, administrators, health information users and buyers, as well as relevant public authorities and policy makers from across Europe and the Middle East in an effort to bridge the gap between public policy and the realities of day-to-day implementation of healthcare through information and communication technologies (ICT).
The vision of a universal clinical terminology, covering a broad range of health-related domains and meeting the needs of all health professionals has stimulated numerous health informatics research activities in the last two decades.