mHealth in Europe: Published Consultation Results

European CommissionPrivacy and security, patient safety, a clear legal framework and better evidence on cost-effectiveness are all required to help mHealth flourish in Europe, according to the responses to a European Commission public consultation. 211 separate responses from public authorities, healthcare providers, patients' organisations and web entrepreneurs, inside and outside the EU, gave feedback on eleven issues related to the uptake of mHealth in the EU. While recent statistics confirm that national and EU funding initiatives are bearing fruit and that Europe is set to become the largest market by 2018, responses indicated that more remains to be done so that EU entrepreneurs can effectively access this booming market.
  • 97 respondents believe that strong privacy and security tools (such as data encryption and authentication mechanisms) are needed to build users' trust. Half of the respondents called for a strengthened enforcement of data protection and the rules applicable to mHealth devices.
  • Nearly half of the respondents ask for more patient safety and transparency of information, by means of certification schemes or quality labelling of lifestyle and wellbeing apps. Nevertheless, some warn against the risks of over-regulation.
  • Web entrepreneurs consider it difficult to access the market due to the lack of a clear regulatory framework, interoperability and common quality criteria.
  • 71 respondents think performance and safety requirements and liability rules applicable to lifestyle and wellbeing apps should be clarified, through legislation, self-regulation or guidance.
  • A fifth of respondents believe more evidence is needed on the cost-effectiveness of mHealth. 21 respondents referred to specific studies and projects which have demonstrated efficiency gains. For example, according to one study, trials in the Nordic countries have shown that mHealth could generate a 50-60% reduction in hospital nights and re-hospitalization for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The same study estimates that mHealth could reduce overall elderly care expenditure by 25%.

Respondents also suggested that:

  • EU and national actions should ensure interoperability of mHealth solutions with Electronic Health Records (EHRs) for continuity of care and for research purposes.
  • Greater emphasis should be put on actions to promote open standards and the use of the common open architecture or open Application Programming Interfaces.
  • Health professionals, care-givers and users should be actively involved in co-designing mHealth solutions.

Next steps
The Commission will, in the course of 2015, discuss with stakeholders the options for policy actions (legislation, self- or co-regulation, policy guidelines, etc.).

A series of actions to support mHealth deployment are already foreseen under Horizon 2020 and will be taken into account in future work programmes. mHealth will be one of the key topics on the agenda of eHealth Week in Riga in May 2015.

For further information, please download the summary report and all the responses:

Most Popular Now

MEDICA 2024 + COMPAMED 2024: Adapted Hal…

11 - 14 November 2024, Düsseldorf, Germany. The final preparations for MEDICA 2024 and COMPAMED 2024 in Düsseldorf have begun. A total of more than 5,500 exhibitors from approximately 70 countries...

AI does Not Necessarily Lead to more Eff…

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospitals and patient care is steadily increasing. Especially in specialist areas with a high proportion of imaging, such as radiology, AI has long...

Commission Joins Forces with Venture Cap…

The Commission has launched a Trusted Investors Network bringing together a group of investors ready to co-invest in innovative deep-tech companies in Europe together with the EU. The Union's investment...

Why the NHS is Seeking to Make Media Ser…

Opinion Article by Dean Moody, Healthcare Services Director, Airwave Healthcare. Tim Kelsey and Martha Lane Fox called for WiFi to be made available free of charge throughout the NHS back in...

An AI-Powered Pipeline for Personalized …

Ludwig Cancer Research scientists have developed a full, start-to-finish computational pipeline that integrates multiple molecular and genetic analyses of tumors and the specific molecular targets of T cells and harnesses...

Wearable Cameras Allow AI to Detect Medi…

A team of researchers says it has developed the first wearable camera system that, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), detects potential errors in medication delivery. In a test whose...

Philips and Medtronic Advocacy Partnersh…

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Medtronic Neurovascular, a leading innovator in neurovascular therapies, today announced a strategic advocacy partnership. Delivering timely stroke...

AI could Transform How Hospitals Produce…

A pilot study led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that advanced artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially lead to easier, faster and more efficient...

New AI Tool Predicts Protein-Protein Int…

Scientists from Cleveland Clinic and Cornell University have designed a publicly-available software and web database to break down barriers to identifying key protein-protein interactions to treat with medication. The computational tool...

Great Start for Ideas and Innovations: D…

8 - 10 April 2025, Berlin, Germany. From 15 October to 15 November 2024, the DMEA invites experts from business, science, politics and practice to actively participate in shaping the congress...

Start-Ups will Once Again Have a Starrin…

11 - 14 November 2024, Düsseldorf, Germany. The finalists in the 16th Healthcare Innovation World Cup and the 13th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION have advanced from around 550 candidates based in 62...

AI for Real-Rime, Patient-Focused Insigh…

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but still... they both have a lot of work to do to catch up to BiomedGPT. Covered recently in the prestigious journal Nature...