PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND MEDIA RELATIONS BLOG - Veena Hudson http://blogs.accaglobal.com/pamrblog/ en-GB Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:54:25 +0000 http://www.typepad.com/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification PublicAffairsAndMediaRelationsBlog-VeenaHudsonhttp://feedburner.google.com EHealth offers solutions, but progress is slow and fragmented http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PublicAffairsAndMediaRelationsBlog-VeenaHudson/~3/S-RcCHExScs/ehealth-offers-solutions-but-progress-is-slow-and-fragmented.html http://blogs.accaglobal.com/pamrblog/2010/03/ehealth-offers-solutions-but-progress-is-slow-and-fragmented.html In March, EU health ministers signed a declaration that recognises the strategic value of eHealth and committed to greater collaboration across Europe. But what is eHealth and what does it mean for the future? EHealth, the highest growing market in the health sector, is the term for the electronic processes and communication that support the healthcare practice. It refers to a variety of tools, from Electronic Health Records (which facilitate the communication of patient data between the various healthcare professionals) and Telemedicine (a variety of physical and psychological measurements that remove the need to travel to a specialist) to Healthcare... In March, EU health ministers signed a declaration that recognises the strategic value of eHealth and committed to greater collaboration across Europe. But what is eHealth and what does it mean for the future?

EHealth, the highest growing market in the health sector, is the term for the electronic processes and communication that support the healthcare practice. It refers to a variety of tools, from Electronic Health Records (which facilitate the communication of patient data between the various healthcare professionals) and Telemedicine (a variety of physical and psychological measurements that remove the need to travel to a specialist) to Healthcare Information Systems (software solutions for tasks such as appointment scheduling, patient data management and work schedule management).
 
The introduction of advanced electronic Health - or eHealth technologies in large hospitals - can improve efficiency, reduce financial costs, and deliver a significant return on investments. This is backed up by the findings of a recent research entitled Collaboration and Communication Technology at the Heart of Hospital Transformation, published by ACCA in collaboration with the European Commission.
 
The study, which includes financial analysis illustrated with concrete facts and figures, shows that since the deployment of the new technology, patients in the featured hospital now spend significantly less time waiting for treatment, while doctors have increased their available time for direct patient care time by around 40 minutes per day, leading to improved patient and staff satisfaction.
 
It is estimated that spending on eHealth worldwide stands at only around 2% of healthcare expenditure, yet it has the potential to reduce inefficiencies inherent in the healthcare environment by as much as 25-40%. While the EU continues to move towards a 'European eHealth era' and the European Commission has brought forward a number of initiatives, progress to date has been fragmented, and there are a number of areas where there needs to be more progress. These include:
  • Data protection and patient confidentiality are key issues in terms of eHealth and they play a vital role in the trust that patients have in the healthcare system. In encouraging greater collaboration, the EU must also ensure that privacy is paramount and that systems are constantly updated.
  • The European Commission has called for a change in the "mentality" that leads to thousands of small scale pilots being run in eHealth.
  • The EU could support research into common data standards which, if adopted by individual healthcare information systems manufacturers, will facilitate the sharing of medical information both between and within individual countries.
  •  Healthcare information systems may need to be certified and a certifying authority may therefore need to be established to do this in order to ensure that all member states recognise the systems.
  • The EU should facilitate the sharing of best practice in the use of eHealth between member states.
  • The real challenge is the financial commitment from member states through a coordinated approach to invest in ICT in the health environment.
EHealth is bringing about a change in working practices to ensure better value, more efficient service provision with fewer errors, and better communication between healthcare professionals and patients. 
 
A sustained increase in the level of ICT investments now requires the co-operation of all stakeholders in following a realistic strategy for the deployment of e-health technologies.
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