18 - 20 April 2012, Luxembourg.The 10th edition of Med-e-Tel, the International eHealth, Telemedicine and Health ICT Forum, will take place on 18-20 April 2012 at the Luxexpo Exhibition and Congress Center in Luxembourg.
Med-e-Tel, organized by the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH), is one of the premier events worldwide in the field of Telemedicine and eHealth and brings together every year in Luxembourg, since 2002, participants from 50 countries around the world. The ISfTeH is the international federation of national Telemedicine/eHealth associations and is recognized as an NGO in Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Med-e-Tel forum is endorsed by the Luxembourg Ministry of Health, the European Commission, the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL), the Continua Health Alliance and works together with a wide range of local and international partners who are all involved in Telemedicine and eHealth research, development, funding or implementation.
Governments, healthcare providers and health insurers are turning more and more towards Telemedicine and eHealth solutions as one of the tools to cope with the effects of today's ageing society and tomorrow's reduced healthcare workforce and to address the constant pressure on healthcare budgets and the need for more qualitative and cost effective healthcare. There is already a lot of experience and good practice that has been built up around the world, and there is a need for sharing these practical experiences across borders and across professions, hence the role of the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth and its Med-e-Tel event.
Through its extensive conference program with over 200 presentations and through an industrial exhibition and networking area, Med-e-Tel presents and showcases practical experiences, ongoing projects, recent research results, and new technologies with a high added value for its international audience of healthcare providers, industry representatives, consultants, researchers and policy makers.
The inaugural ceremony of Med-e-Tel 2012 will be held on April 18th in the presence of Mr. Mars Di Bartolomeo, Luxembourg Minister of Health and Social Security, Dr. Najeeb Al-Shorbaji, Director of Knowledge Management and Sharing at the World Health Organization and Dr. Andy Fischer, President of the ISfTeH. A special Lifetime Achievement Award will also be presented during the opening to Prof. Louis Lareng from France, a Telemedicine and eHealth pioneer, and at the age of 89 still active as Administrator of the GCS Télésanté Midi-Pyrénées.
In a first plenary session after the official opening of the event, experts and thought leaders from around the world will provide a global update on Telemedicine and eHealth, including a look at how Telemedicine was deployed in the aftermath of the Tsunami in Japan last year to provide basic health care; a look at the economics of eHealth (what are the costs and the savings); an overview of current eHealth initiatives by the European Commission; the role of Nurses in eHealth; and ten years of success stories and trends in Telemedicine.
Med-e-Tel 2012 will also feature the second edition of the Global eHealth Strategies Symposium, which was initiated at last year's Med-e-Tel. The aim is to provide an intercultural and multidisciplinary framework in order to promote policy dialogue on how eHealth can address health and healthcare issues and challenges in developing countries, but just as well in developed countries. Analysis will be made of the transferability of evidence and experience and also barriers will be identified and factors determined for a useful deployment of eHealth. The symposium is co-chaired by the European Commission and the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth, and is supported by Intel and Orange Healthcare. Additional contributors to the symposium include GSMA, ITU, Accenture, South African Telemedicine Association and 3 presenters who have received an award (supported by the European Commission) to participate at Med-e-Tel and present their projects and initiatives.
Next to the international focus and participation of several high level delegations (Ministries of Health) from countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, Med-e-Tel also features a regional seminar and training session aimed primarily at the Luxembourg, Belgian and French marketplace. The 2012 edition of this training session focuses on "return on investment of eHealth and Health IT investments" and will address questions such as "How to calculate the real ROI of eHealth/Health IT investments?", "Which benefits can be obtained?", "Which solutions work and which don't?", "What can I learn from experiences gained by my colleagues over the past 10 years?". The training is provided by François Daue of Solstisse - Center of Expertise for Healthcare - and also includes contributions from Accenture and hospital CIOs and administrators in Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland. The session is targeted at hospitals, care homes, mutualities and health insurers, public authorities and industry representatives from Luxembourg, Belgium and France.
"This year, in addition to the enticing content to which participants have become accustomed, Med-e-Tel will also feature, for the first time, one of the Ambassadors of the Society's Global eHealth Ambassadors Program (GeHAP): Lord Nigel Crisp, former Chief Executive of the NHS in the UK, will give a keynote address on day two of the event (April 19th). The GeHAP, which is chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was successfully launched in Rio de Janeiro last year and aims to raise the profile of eHealth worldwide through advocacy activities," says Yunkap Kwankam, Executive Director of the ISfTeH. "The International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth is all about facilitating the dissemination of knowledge and experience in Telemedicine and eHealth. Med-e-Tel is one of the primary instruments that help us to realize this mission, and we're very pleased to celebrate the 10th edition of the event this year in Luxembourg" according to Kwankam.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.medetel.eu
Related news articles:
- Med-e-Tel's Profile