The ministerial High Level eHealth Conference and the World of Health IT Conference and Exhibition will be held jointly this week in Barcelona, Spain.

Dubbed "eHealth Week 2010," the dual event kicks off with the High Level eHealth Conference - an EU event organized by the Spanish EU Presidency, the European Commission, the Government of Catalonia and the Foundation TicSalut - as a closed ministerial conference in its 8th edition.

In parallel to the High Level eHealth Conference, the fourth meeting of WoHIT will be staged from 16th-18th March, offering a program and exhibition to encourage Healthcare transformation via eHealth. Previous installments of the WoHIT show were held in Geneva (2006), Vienna (2007) and Copenhagen (2008). 

Among the speakers at WoHIT this year are:

• Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for the Digital Agenda;
• Neil Bacon, founder of iWantGreatCare.org;
• Andrew Wiesenthal, MD, SM Associate Executive Director of the Permanente Federation for Clinical Information Support.

Five parallel session tracks, two for the eHealth conference, three for the WoHIT, will be available to attendees. The exhibition floor will revive WoHIT's annual showcase of country pavilions, alongside exhibition booths from more than 60 leading industry providers. An interoperability showcase and a dedicated theatre for industry solution presentations and product launches will round out the exhibition side of the show.

According to a release from HealthTechWire, the joint event will bridge the two key worlds of policy-makers and eHealth users and promoters. Key leaders will address the European eHealth roadmap, the release noted, attracting prestigious regional and global media attention.

Gerard Comyn, head of unit at the European Commission, ICT for Health / Information Society and Media Directorate-General, said "Building on the results of the Swedish Presidency, the Barcelona High Level eHealth Conference will be the starting point of a new set of actions on eHealth deployment."

"There are enourmous eHealth investments being made right now by government and healthcare providers," said Jeremy Bonfini, senior vice president, Global Services at HIMSS. "WoHIT 2010 will give all stakeholders critical knowledge to the practical benefits of eHealth throughout the continuum of care."

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Healthcare IT News will be reporting live and tweeting from WoHIT throughout the week. Monitor our International news feed and follow us on Twitter to get all the breaking news from the show.

For a list of vendor press releases and announcements from WoHIT, see HealthTech Wire.

Read the original press release for HealthTech Wire.