The workshop on E-Health and Equity in the Global Health Communities is an initiative of the eHealth Unit, DG INFSO, European Commission and will take place in Brussels, on December 15, at European Commission premises.
The potential of e-health to help strengthen health systems and to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of care was recognised by the World Health Assembly in its resolution on eHealth in 2005. In addition, eHealth should improve health equity as a consequence of the ease of access to information and health services.
The workshop will seek answers to questions such as:
• What types of disparities does this ease of access minimise or exacerbate?
• How are health systems and their governance influenced by these eHealth solutions, policies and practices?
• What evidence is there to strengthen activities and programmes that support local, regional, national and global health communities?
We particularly seek experiences and lessons learnt in low-resource settings including contributors from developing countries.
This workshop will act as a means of dissemination of the key findings to high-level decision-makers; as a promoter of stronger commitment on eHealth interoperability and its wider application at global level and as a preparatory forum for selecting issues to present at the forthcoming World Health Assembly.
Provided they address the theme of the workshop, speakers are free to propose their own topics. An indicative (but not exhaustive) list is given below.
• Equal access to health related information: the role of the digital divide
• Interoperability as a means of achieving equity in healthcare
• e-health at local, regional, national and global levels as a way to enhance equity in healthcare and services
• The role of telemedicine and remote care in reducing the healthcare divide on a global scale
• Using e-health to widen access to information: does this promote equity in low resource areas?
• Managing Electronic Health Records for equity in care
• E-Health systems for “care at home”: bypassing age and distance discrimination
• Legal issues
• Cross-border eHealth services: can they enhance equity in care?
For more information, please visit: www.epractice.eu
