The new HIMSS initiative is focused on bringing together healthcare IT professionals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, who share the common goal of improving the delivery of healthcare through information technology and management systems.

At the first World of Health IT Conference and Exhibition in Geneva, representatives of the European healthcare IT and ICT industry gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing eHealth solutions in Europe today.

At The World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition, in Geneva, Philips will present IT applications for specific areas of the patient care cycle — including workflow and information systems for Radiology and Cardiology, as well as iSite PACS.

At the WCC 2006 in Barcelona, Siemens Medical Solutions presented a new software tool for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) especially developed for application in cardiology.

Danish Biometrics enters into an agreement with Copenhagen Hospital Corporation about testing, research and development on biometric recognition.

Research by the European Union's Joint Research Centre (JRC) suggests that business investment in research and development (R&D) will increase by as much as five per cent per year for the next three years.

IBM unveiled a radio frequency identification (RFID) system for tracking and tracing of pharmaceuticals.

The system makes it more difficult for counterfeit drugs to get to market, protecting consumers by helping ensure the drugs they receive match the prescription from their physician.