eHealth

[eHealth week] eHealth innovation must be driven by full inclusion

13 May, Brussels -The motto of the 2013 eHealth week (13-15 May), which kicks off today, is ‘Delivering Innovative Healthcare and Well-being’. According to the European Commission, eHealth Week aims to encourage continuous investment in health IT in an effort to improve patient care and get a handle on rising medical costs. An integral part of this year’s eHealth Week is the High Level eHealth Conference, organised by the Irish Presidency and the European Commission. (...)

[EPHA’s 20th anniversary series] There is no time like the present

While generally speaking, political change in Brussels tends to be tremendously slow, twenty years are a sufficiently long period of time to have witnessed some crucial changes in the continent’s public health sphere. At the time of EPHA’s inception in 1993, Article 129 of the Maastricht Treaty had just equipped the European Commission with a limited but important legal coordinating role in the field of public health with a focus on prevention, health promotion and protection. (...)

European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee adopts opinion on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) adopted on 19 March its opinion on the General Data Protection Regulation. This will now be forwarded to the responsible Civil Liberties (LIBE) Committee for consideration alongside the submitted amendments. The opinion broadly supports the Commission text, supporting the use of a regulation rather than a directive, a broad definition of personal data, and the requirement for explicit consent in order for processing to be (...)

Council of the EU discusses General Data Protection Regulation

The Justice and Home Affairs Council met on Friday 8 March to debate the latest Council discussion paper, which asked member states for their positions and concerns regarding two main elements of the GDPR - the use of a risk-based approach and the need to provide flexibility for the public sector. The meeting was chaired by Mr Alan Shatter, Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence and opened with a presentation by Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, (...)

Broadband cuts threaten European Commission’s e-Inclusion goals

One of the European Commission’s key Digital Agenda for Europe goals, namely to provide access to fast broadband across Europe by 2013, is threatened by a decision by European heads of state to slash the budget. This could further impede working towards equity in the area of eHealth. Under its Digital Agenda for Europe strategy, which has also recently been relaunched with new targets, the Commission’s objective is for Europeans to have access to fast broadband by 2013 while (...)

[EPHA Statement] General Data Protection Regulation & Implications for Health Research

Data for health research must remain available for the benefit of society as a whole, whilst respecting the rights of the individual. 27 February, Brussels - The European Commission proposal for a regulation concerning data protection, released in January 2013, contains a number of exemptions and provisions crucial to facilitating vital health research within a framework of individual rights and protections. The public health community welcomed the proposal and its recognition of the (...)

Ireland’s Presidency Health Priorities presented

Ireland, in collaboration with its TRIO partners - Lithuania and Greece - has made a commitment to use its resources to prioritise solid progress on a number of key legislative dossiers in health and calls on member states to work together, sharing ideas, information and best practice. The Irish Presidency Programme, whose cornerstone is progressing the legislative agenda, contains a series of health priorities: on 23 January 2013 the Irish Minister of Health, James Reilly, presented them (...)

EU budget 2014-2020: EU leaders agree to historic cut

Following over a year of negotiations and a final 24 hour-long summit, the EU budget 2014-2020 was agreed on 8 February. Smaller than the current 2007-2013 budget, the new EU budget (called multiannual financial framework) sets the EU financial priorities and spending limits until 2020. This is the first time in the Union’s history that a net reduction on its budget has been made. The deal struck roughly represents 1% of EU Gross National Income. The net reduction comes at a time when (...)

Chain of TRUST Closing Conference identifies key areas for improving trust and acceptability of telehealth

The ’’Chain of TRUST’’, a project to assess the perspective of the main end users of telehealth services across the EU, closing conference took place on 24 January 2013. The project examined the obstacles for the successful uptake of telehealth by their principal users, however the discussions went beyond the (still contested) notion of telehealth and provided useful food for thought on the wider challenges that the European eHealth sector is currently facing. (...)

Fact or fiction? The Co-production of health and the digital user

In December, the 2012 EHTEL symposium explored, amongst other things, user perspectives in the domain of digital health. It was an opportunity to learn about new developments in eHealth and how they can help address health inequalities and improve access, particularly regarding less literate and disadvantaged population groups for whom the digital divide is still a reality. Following an introduction of the conference theme - ’’The Future of eHealth is already here’’ (...)