The works of eHealth Forum 2014 were successfully completed. More than 1,278 participants from 38 countries and 150 speakers from around the globe joined the eHealth Forum 2014 in Athens. In total 70 exhibitors participated from Europe and US; among them SMEs and Start-Up companies.
Christina Papanikolaou, Secretary General of Public Health, of the Hellenic Ministry of Health, one of the organizers of the Forum, summed up some conclusions drawn throughout the Forum: "Europe's goal is to make systems patient-centred; the eHealth Forum 2014 in Athens addressed major issues and showed the way forward for healthcare reform, cross-border provision of health and care services, the value of innovation and the development of the eHealth market.
"The importance of e-services such as e-Prescription, digital Patient Summary and Patient Registries were extensively discussed in numerous sessions. Substantial progress was made as regards the Green Paper on m-Health and the guidelines for e-prescription systems. The Forum placed great emphasis on Silver Economy, as well as personalised and integrated care in Horizon 2020, ageing populations and chronic patients further to scaling up the activities of Action Groups and Reference Sites. The event hosted the EU-US MoU on eHealth and the 4th EU-US Business Marketplace and Cooperation Assembly on interoperability and workforce skills. Patient empowerment, synergies, the transformation of the traditional healthcare landscape and medical practice were also thoroughly discussed.
"In conclusion, it was made perfectly clear that Europe must move forward under a common vision and agenda, in a coordinated way, so as to improve citizens' and patients' quality of life through the use of eHealth solutions and other digital innovations as enablers of change."
Successful use and innovation of eHealth tools in Greece
From a Greek perspective, the work of IDIKA on e-prescribing was presented. "The system that was developed and applied in less than three years had amazing results. It practically covers 100% of all prescriptions in Greece, i.e., more than 5 million prescriptions and 2.million diagnostic referrals per month. Around 43.000 doctors and 11.900 pharmacies are in a unified network and service the 10 million people of Greece. The many benefits include accurate statistical data ensuring complete transparency and important contribution to the decision making policy and significant cost containment," underlined George Pangalos, President of the Greek Center for e-Gov Applications in Social Security and Health. The Greek ePrescription system was built on the basis of EU-funded epSOS project.
"Wearable tech" is a growing field for health application. Under the USEFIL project was demonstrated at the eHealth Forum; the combination of a smart watch and an even smarter mirror can show you & your carers how you feel and what you do. The product was developed through an EU-funded research project coordinated by Demokritos, the Greek National Centre for Scientific Research. This system helps elderly people stay independent for longer. Although the project will be completed only at the end of this year, it is already expanding and forging partnerships with American companies.
SOCIABLE offers ICT-assisted cognitive training and social activation to senior citizens, older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and patients suffering from mild Alzheimer's disease, helping them stay mentally fit. At the heart of the project is a single platform (a tablet, an 'all-in-one' PC or a 'digital table', a table with a touch-screen) and over 25 applications. These include cognitive training exercises (covering logical reasoning, language and constructional practice and spatial orientation). They also include the "Book of Life", a personal diary application, where people can store life experiences, memories and thoughts, in the form of texts, pictures and video, which can also be shared with others, thus remaining active socially. SOCIABLE is being used in seven organisations in Greece, Italy, Norway and Spain. The project coordinator SingularLogic S.A. is planning further commercial roll out of Sociable and is negotiating with a big medical centre in Germany to include Sociable solutions in its services. In parallel, SOCIABLE functionalities and services are being enhanced and adapted for new clients and in other EU-funded projects (e.g. IDF, Cloud4All, Prosperity4All). One of the improvements is a training module for fall prevention. SOCIABLE was demonstrated live at SingularLogic's booth at the eHealth Forum.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.ehealth2014.org
About the Greek Presidency
Greece is holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2014, before handing over reins to Italy on 1 July 2014. It is the fifth time that Greece will hold the Presidency since its accession to the European Communities in 1981.
Briefly, the promotion of policies and actions for achieving growth, combating unemployment, promoting economic and social cohesion and structural reforms, deepening integration and completion of EMU, as well as addressing external challenges, including EU enlargement, formulate the priority framework of Hellenic Presidency.