The European Commission (EC) has encouraged experts in the field of telemedicine to play an active role in the development of innovative technologies for chronic disease management. The TeleHealth 2007 conference (Brussels, Belgium, 11 December 2007) aims to identify barriers to broad telemedicine development and concrete actions for the European Union Institutions, Member States, Regions, Industries, User organisations and other stakeholders. It will serve as a brainstorming platform and should influence the way in which national problems will be addressed at national and European wide level.
In preparation for the conference, the EC invited experts in the field of telemedicine to respond to a short online questionnaire designed to collect information on the role of innovative technologies for chronic disease management. It was agreed that these answers would contribute to the structure of the TeleHealth 2007 conference.
The questionnaire received very interesting and well documented inputs and suggestions for actions that were included in the agenda of the Conference. Of the 52 completed responses, 17 came from medical doctors and 35 from IT specialists. 40 respondents had some experience of cross-border health care.
The survey revealed a range of perceived barriers to the development of telemedicine solutions. The most commonly cited obstacle was the need for a change of culture regarding the use of ICT for Health. 30% of respondents mentioned this need acceptance of ICT by health care stakeholders from government level to health institutions, doctors, nurses and patients.
Other main obstacles mentioned were the need for standardisation of ICT systems and legal barriers including liability issues and data protection (both cited by 27% of respondents). Legal issues were the most important barriers for the medical doctors surveyed (53% of doctors agreeing legal issues to be the key barrier).
The need for funding and incentivisation of ICT for Health projects was also a popularly chosen obstacle, mentioned by 25% of respondents, although 2 of the medical doctors mentioned it. Remaining significant obstacles included the lack of clarity surrounding reimbursement for telemedicine (19) and the lack of political awareness/need for demonstration pilots (10%).
Respondents were also asked for proposed actions to ensure that telemedicine solutions can be fully deployed and integrated to national and European healthcare systems. Suggested solutions to the problem included the following:
- Build evidence, run pilots - 25%
- Implement standards - 17%
- Improve cross-border cooperation, interoperable solutions - 17%
- Provide more funding - 11%
- Set up metrics - 8 %
- Run communication/promotional campaigns - 8%
- Fix the reimbursement issue - 8%
- Educate trainee doctors - 2%
The conference on Tuesday 11 December will aim to address all the obstacles mentioned by survey respondents. Experts will focus on regulatory issues (including accreditation, labeling and certification), legal issues (including data protection, liability, tax and competition), financial issues (including reimbursement, public/private financing) and eHealth interoperability. It is clear that such issues are common to several Member States or related to cross-border activities and that they would benefit from a European slant.
For more information on the Conference:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/events/telehealth_2007
Following the conference, a report synthesising the outcomes of the discussions will be published on the Conference website.
The following step will be a conference on the industrial aspects of telemedicine for chronic disease management to take place early March 2008.
This series of actions aim to feed a European-wide think tank initiative gathering all stakeholders in the field to prepare and deliver a Communication on telemedicine and innovative technologies for chronic disease management by October 2008.
Related news articles:
- TeleHealth 2007 - Telemedicine and Innovative Technologies for Chronic Disease Management in Europe
- Public Consultation: EU-wide Telemedicine and Innovative Technologies for Chronic Disease Management
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