eHealth Project of the Month - eHealth ERA

The vision of transparent European healthcare systems which deliver high quality healthcare to all citizens independent of their location when in need of care is coming closer to reality. A European eHealth space facilitates this development.

This is a key recent result form the eHealth ERA project. All European countries undertake great efforts to improve access, quality and efficiency of their health services through innovative information technology-based solutions. Together they move towards a common eHealth agenda in Europe. This is the message of a newly published eHealth-ERA based European Commission report entitled "eHealth priorities and strategies in European countries". It provides eHealth fact sheets on national activities not only for the 27 EU Member States but also five other European countries. It is a milestone in the development of eHealth in the European Union.

The overall goal of the eHealth ERA project is to contribute to greater transparency of national eHealth strategies and implementation activities as well as innovation-oriented research and technology development (RTD) initiatives. Thereby the project aims at fostering an effective European Research and innovation Area (ERA) in eHealth.

Towards these ends, the project has contributed to:

• creating greater transparency with regard to national eHealth strategies and measures to achieve national eHealth visions,
• identifying and analysing priority deployment goals and resulting RTD needs,
• exchanging experience in developing and managing eHealth strategies and programmes,
• recommending sustainable mechanisms for effective transnational cooperation between several of the participating states for mutual benefit.

Project description
The analysis of national eHealth priorities led to the definition of two priority topic clusters for which more in-depth knowledge is urgently required by Member States to support further policy development and the implementation of appropriate actions. These topics are closely related to the European Commission's eHealth Action Plan: patient summaries and patient empowerment. eHealth ERA also surveys RTD programme structures, actors, stakeholders and co-operation processes. The development of project approaches and topics took place with the guidance of a Coordination Committee, which - in the framework of the European Union i2010 Subgroup on eHealth – brings together representatives of national health and other ministries as well as competent authorities in Member States and other participating countries.

Outcomes
The key output of the eHealth ERA project is greater transparency of ongoing eHealth strategy development and implementation activities across European countries. eHealth ERA made the complex European eHealth policy context, as outlined in the figure, somewhat more transparent. These somewhat intangible outputs are expected to translate into an in-depth understanding of common priorities and lessons learned, into improved co-ordination among Member States, and into increased coherence in European eHealth planning. Furthermore, the project may support the initiation of joint eHealth projects and RTD ventures.

Specific outputs include the following:

• A public eHealth website that includes a database with more than 100 documents about national eHealth strategies, implementation activities, and RTD programmes.
• A report about "eHealth priorities and strategies in European countries" that includes fact sheets about eHealth in 35 countries.
• Reports on two topic clusters – patient summaries and patient empowerment – detailing priority strategic opportunities for joint activities of Member States.
• A comprehensive European eHealth policy report, presenting a structured overview of programmes, initiatives and roadmaps, synthesising policy as well as RTD topics with priorities in multiple Member States.
• Functional description of national institutional eHealth RTD structures, programmes and relationships essential to achieve a high degree of eHealth RTD planning and co-operation across the European Union.

Related news article:

• eHealth priorities and strategies in European countries (Publication)

Project website: http://www.ehealth-era.org

For further information:
ICT for Health
European Commission - Information society and Media DG
Office: BU31 06/73 B-1049 Brussels
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: +32 2 296 41 94
Fax: +32 2 296 01 81
http://europa.eu/information_society/eHealth