Maximising health benefits for citizens through new technologies

e·Health

Dr Josip Car, PhD MDDirector of eHealth Unit

Consumers, clinicians & commissioners:

the emerging e·health ecosystem

The power of e·health: web and mesh

Understanding the challenges

Consumers

Informing

choice

Darzi, 2008

Consumers

New ways to

engage

Clinicians with

Consumers

In-clinic

tools

Clinicians with

consumers

Connected,

efficient care

Commissioners

Intelligence

Facilitating

decisions

Emerging

applications

Novel forms of

support

Emerging

applications

Virtual

engagement

Emerging

applications

Clinical

education

Patten, 2007

Web and Mesh

Assist and enhance

• prevention

• diagnosis

• treatment

• monitoring

• quality of life

Hansen, 2008; Eyesenbach, 2008

Trends in Europe

Baseline study in seven countries reported:

• From 2005-2007, the percentage of the population that had used the

internet to find healthcare-related information grew from 42.3 to 52.2%

• Highest growth in Germany 12.2%, Poland 11.8% and Latvia 11.3%

• Lowest use in Greece 32.1% and Portugal 38.3%

• Highest use in Denmark 71.6% and Norway 66.8%

Europe is....

• Getting ‘greyer’

• Increasingly mobile

• In need of an efficient ‘cross-border’ healthcare system

Kummervold et al., 2008; Wilson et al., 2004

Potential for improved healthcare provision

• Facilitated, informed decision-making

• Improved healthcare access

• Cost-efficiency

• Health intelligence

• Strategic planning

Wilson et al., 2004

Challenges for health consumers

• Low health literacy

• Low IT literacy

• Limited access

• Haphazard organisation of information

• Identifying authoritative sources

• Understanding the evolving relationship with clinicians

Car et al., 2008

Challenges for health providers

• Selecting the right applications

• Exploring efficacy and cost-effectiveness

• Statistical literacy

• Organisational change: inertia and resistance

• Understanding the evolving relationship with consumers

Castells et al., 2007; Aas, 2007

evidence!

e·Health is too big to ignore

e·Health is too exciting to disregard

e·Health has penetrated healthcare at all levels and

has been applied to almost every medical specialty

e·Health provides solutions to everyday problems of

patients and clinicians and affects decision-making

e·Health fits well with Europe’s needs for cost-effective

and cross-border healthcare

questions?

This paper was produced for a meeting organized by Health & Consumer Protection DG and represents the views of its author on thesubject. These views have not been adopted or in any way approved by the Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission's or Health & Consumer Protection DG's views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the dataincluded in this paper, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.