The European Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) is a flagship initiative of the EU 2020 strategy, which focuses on sustainable growth through ICT. eHealth is a key part of it, said Flora Girogio of the EC’s ICT for Health unit, speaking at the Global eHealth Forum in Hamburg today. The DAE will develop the necessary infrastructure.

There are seven pillars, which encompass issues ranging from developing interoperability and standards to ultra fast Internet access, digital literacy and eGovernment solutions. The EC invests € 11 billion until 2020 in driving and developing Europe’s digital infrastructure. The goal is to raise Internet coverage to 100% by 2013 and to facilitate data exchange at greater than 30 Mbps by 2020. Standards and interoperability among IT systems across Member States is another major concern of the DAE, and by 2012 a minimum set of common patient data should be available for interoperable patient records. The EC-funded epSOS project, involving 12 Member States, has launched a pilot project in this area. Girogio also announced that a Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed between the United States and Europe in around four months on the interoperability of health data exchange.

”In Europe, healthcare is a human right,” said Giorgio. “But 20% of the patients are consuming 80% of the resources in the system. Patients are becoming more demanding. Expenditure within the healthcare system is growing faster than the economy. An aging population is challanging for healthcare systems.“

The DAE has launched pilot initiatives to equip Europeans with secure online access to their medical health data by 2015 and to achieve widespread deployment of telemedicine services by 2020.

“Telemedicine can help chronic patients and we are urging decision-makers and payers to invest in this technology,“ Giorgio said. ”The most underused resource in healthcare is the patient and there is a common understanding among Member States that patients have to be empowered.“

”The EU could gain 4% GDP growth by stimulating the rapid development of the digital single market by 2020,“ Giorgio said. “We are experiencing interesting, but challenging, times. eHealth is not a game; together, we can bring this agenda forward.“

Giorgio invited delegates to continue the discussion at eHealth Week 2011, Europe’s main annual platform for the advancement of eHealth. The next event will take place in Budapest from May 10-13, 2011, during Hungary’s Presidency of the European Union.

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Source: HealthTech Wire for the Global eHealth Forum and the European Commission - ICT for Health.

This is a HealthTech Wire original text. You are free to use it, in whole or in part, for journalistic purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.

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