eHealth Topic of the Month - The World of Health IT 2007
The European Commission, together with seven European organisations: EUROREC, COCIR, EHTEL, HINE, CPME, EHMA and HOPE and 2 international organisations WHO and HIMSS are co-organising the second World of Health IT conference in Vienna 22-25 October, 2007. The first edition took place in Geneva in 2006 and demonstrated the great interest and need for such a market place where all the professionals in the domain can meet to learn from each other and find the most appropriate solutions at the largest exhibition dedicated to eHealth in Europe, Middle East and Africa. 
The ISO-HL7 PHR International Survey team invites to participate in a survey of the international uses of Personal Health Records and Personal Health Informatics. The goal of this survey is to inform and update the standards-development community of the current needs, desires, and trends surrounding the electronic Personal Health Record (PHR). 
Transinsight, provider of knowledge-based software solutions, has released a new online version of the well-known life-science search engine GoPubMed. This, the first semantic search engine, reduces search time by up to 90%. By sorting search results it enables scientists to answer biomedical questions in completely new way. 
Europe has taken "another step in the realisation of the European Research Area, this time to the benefit of SMEs", according to EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik, who helped to launch EUREKA's Eurostars programme. The programme will provide financial support, from both EU and the EUREKA member country funds, to Europe's young and innovative companies, described by Mr Potocnik as the 'lifeblood' of Europe's economy. 
WHO and its partners called for increased research to improve patient safety. They emphasized the need for intensified research at an international conference opened recently in Porto, Portugal. The conference on Patient safety research: shaping the European agenda will examine evidence showing that harm from medical care poses a substantial burden in terms of suffering and death in Europe and around the world.