HealthManagement, Volume 1 / Issue 1 2005

Author

Michael Palmer

Project Officer

European Commission Information Society and Media Directorate-General

Unit H1 - ICT for Health, BU31 6/14 - B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

E-mail: [email protected]

 

The eHealth week Berlin 2007 will take place from 16-20 April 2007 at the Trade Fair in Berlin's international exhibition and conference centre. Conceived and organised as a European event, it is part of the associated programme of the German EU Presidency 2007. The aim is to create a unique platform for the presentation and discussion of potential solutions for interoperable cross-border processes, pan-European electronic services as well as preparatory campaigns of European partners.

 

The eHealth week Berlin 2007 combines all the leading events concerned with IT and eHealth in the German health system, which include Telemed, eHealth Conference 2007, ITeG (International Forum for Healthcare IT) and the KIS Conference. The IHE Connectathon and other international meetings relating to eHealth will also take place during the eHealth week in Berlin 2007.

 

eHealth Conference 2007

The eHealth Conference 2007 will take place from 17-19 April as part of the eHealth week. This high-level conference is a joint project of the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry of Health, the Berlin regional government and the Association for Social Security Policy and Research (GVG). The conference theme is “From Strategies to Applications” and its primary aim is to provide a forum for those responsible for telematics in government, health insurance organisations, service providers and users’ organisations from around Europe.

 

The eHealth Conference 2007 will focus on the implementation of applications and infrastructures, reflecting the current situation in Europe and Germany in parallel thematic tracks. In particular, the conference aims to present many varied eHealth related activities in EU Member States, concentrating on the benefits using them. Potential solutions for interoperable crossborder processes, pan-European electronic services and preparatory campaigns of the European partners will be demonstrated and discussed, reflecting the shifting focus in EU Member States from national implementation to team collaboration and integration.

 

Increasingly, eHealth processes are providing support for healthcare and routine medical practice in many fields. Central eHealth components such as standardised electronic documentation and interoperable communication are the driving force behind the necessary modernisation of health systems in Europe, which has as its ultimate aim a patient-oriented improvement in healthcare.

 

European cooperation based on these common goals and existing projects and applications is creating the basis for compatible and interoperable information flows and infrastructures.

 

As the increasing mobility of its citizens brings Europe closer, there is a growing need for medical care that can transcend the borders between national and regional health systems. Given the wide variety of solutions on trial and stages of implementation reached, enormous benefit can be gained from learning about Europe’s most progressive strategies and implementation methods. The eHealth Conference 2007 provides an ideal platform in the form of presentations on basic principles, workshops, discussions and presentations showing practical solutions.

 

Four key areas will be examined throughout the course of the conference: Policies and Strategies; Improving Health Services by eHealth; Implementation and Infrastructure; and Good eHealth Practice.

 

This conference is the latest in a series of high level European eHealth meetings organised in collaboration with the European Commission. It is expected that at the conclusion of the conference, a Declaration will be made on behalf of all EU Member States, committing to take steps towards the application of a roadmap for cross-border eHealth systems.

 

_ For further information on the event, see http://www.ehealth2007.de.

 

_ For more information on the European Commission's work in the field of eHealth, see: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/health/index_en.htm.

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