eHealth Week 2013: eHealth networking event of the year

Global decision makers from European public and private healthcare will be meeting High Level European Ministers and EU Commissioners, like Vice-President Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda for Europe) and Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn (Research, Innovation and Science). They will be joined by over 2,500 international delegates.

All of this combined, it's safe to say: This is the Health IT networking event of the year.

Taking place May 13th – 15th at The Convention Centre Dublin, eHealth Week 2013 will be showcasing the world’s most cutting edge Health IT technology and helping deliver the views and ideas of the worlds Health IT elite.

The eHealth marketplace will be open to all attendees and will provide real opportunities for doing business through the speaker’s corner, the device demo area, networking and the buzz of the Matchmaking meetings.

Investment in Action

eHealth Week wants to encourage the continuous investment in Health IT worldwide. This is in an effort to improve patient care and get a handle on rising medical costs.

In this respect it’s becoming ever more important that governments take advantage of cloud computing, mobile devices, ePortals, wireless telemetry equipment and automated pharmacy equipment.

In the past year alone Turkey along with the Scandinavian countries have led a phenomenal trend of large scale investments into the Health IT sector. But it’s not all Europe, the US has seen a 370% increase in Health IT investment in 2012 over 2011.

Governments are spending money on Health IT due to the certainty it will save money in the future. Make sure your company is represented at eHealth Week 2013, Europe’s premier Health IT networking event.

More info and the programme at www.ehealthweek.org 

Please join the pre-event networking and get the latest updates on Twitter: @EU_eHealthweek, #eHW13

We're also on Facebook.

 

More information

 

See also: 

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Sources


http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/eu-and-us-step-cooperation-ehealth-it

http://worldofhealthit.org/2013/

99% of hospital pharmacist experience difficulties with medicines shortages in past year

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) has published headline results of a recent survey that reveals 99% of responding hospital pharmacists say they have experienced difficulties with medicines shortages in the past year.

With over 300 respondents from 27 countries, the survey also uncovered that 63% of hospital pharmacists report medicines shortages to be a weekly, sometimes daily, occurrence. 77% consider that problem has become worse in the last year.

Announcing the results at a reception in the European Parliament on access to medicines, EAHP President Dr Roberto Frontini said: “These headline results confirm what I have increasingly heard from our members across Europe: that the shortages problem is widespread, doesn’t respect national borders, and urgently requires attention if patient care and health services are not to suffer. Managing shortages and trying to source supply distracts pharmacists from other core tasks, places burden on support staff and can increase stress and workload in the pharmacy environment with consequent impacts on the risk of error. Substitution of medicines in case of shortage of formulary drugs can also confuse doctors and nurses, further raising risks to patient safety. I want to take this opportunity at the European Parliament to call on all partners to work together in identifying and enacting solutions. This includes industry and supply chain actors, regulatory authorities, and all health professions involved in medicines. I also believe there is a role for the European Commission in bringing Governments and others together on this issue.”

EAHP will publish the full results of its surveys at its forthcoming Congress in Paris, 13-15th March, 2013.

Source

EAHP

Adoption of EUCERD Recommendations on European Rare Disease Reference Networks promotes access to diagnostics and care

At the seventh meeting of the European Union Committee of Experts on Rare Diseases (EUCERD) on 31 January 2013 in Luxembourg, the EUCERD document Recommendations on Rare Disease European Reference Networks was unanimously adopted.

EURORDIS has been involved in the reflection process on Centres of Expertise and European Reference Networks from the beginning, and EURORDIS representatives at the EUCERD actively participated in the elaboration of the EUCERD Recommendations.

Learn more

Source

EURORDIS

Europe for patients: Common rules on medical prescriptions when travelling to another EU country

The Commission adopted pan-EU rules on a minimum list of elements to be included in a medical prescription taken by a patient travelling from one EU country to another. The provisions for a common way to identify the patient, the prescriber and the prescribed product, are to be put into national law by the Member States by 25 October 2013. Coordination of medical prescriptions for both medicinal products (pharmaceuticals) and medical devices will improve the authentication of cross-border prescriptions and translate into an estimated extra 200 000 prescriptions dispensed every year, benefiting patients and health authorities by avoiding delays, interruptions in treatment and extra costs.

Mr Tonio Borg, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, said: "Last year, the Commission adopted legislation on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare. Today's adoption of a code of practice for cross-border prescriptions is an essential step in achieving the main goal of this legislation: ensuring that patients' rights to access good quality treatment across EU borders becomes a reality. These rules will help secure that patients travelling to another Member State get the medicine they need in the country where they are thanks to clear cross-border prescriptions".

Solving real-life problems

Overall, the number of cross-border prescriptions is estimated to be low, around 2,3 million per year – which translates to between 0.02% and 0.04% of all prescriptions in the EU. Nevertheless, for specific groups of patients, improving the recognition of cross-border prescriptions makes an important difference. For example, for patients with chronic diseases wishing to travel to another country, for patients living in border regions or smaller Member States for whom filling out a cross-border prescription is a necessity and for patients with a rare disease, where the best expertise can be found across a border.

With the current diversity of prescriptions across the EU, it is estimated that over half of patients would have problems with their prescription being recognised in another EU country. 

The guidelines in practice

The new rules on Prescriptions take the form of an Implementing Directive. They introduce a common set of descriptive elements to help identify prescribers, patients and prescribed products. They do not, however, deal with the appearance, format or language of the prescription. Nor do they preclude further elements, in line with local practices, being added by prescribers. These common elements are limited to cross-border prescriptions requested by the patient, not prescriptions used within a country (unless a Member State so chooses).

National Contact Points, established under the Cross-border healthcare Directive will inform patients on the right to travel with a cross-border prescription when visiting another Member State as well as the minimum list of elements that it should contain.

For more information on cross-border healthcare, including prescriptions:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/cross_border_care/policy/index_en.htm

Source

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1422_en.htm

Conference for the Electronic Prescribing in Hospitals

Tuesday 22 January 2013 ICO Conference Centre, London

This one day conference focuses on delivering electronic prescribing and medicines administration in hospitals - moving forward 

• Electronic Prescribing: Delivering the Information Strategy 
• Developing the business case for Electronic Prescribing 
• Electronic Prescribing: Learning from experienced implementers 
• Realising the Clinical Benefits and engaging Clinical Staff 
• Implementing e-prescribing and medicines administration in practice 
• Electronic Prescribing, Medication Errors and Patient Safety 
• Electronic Prescribing as part of the paperless hospital including moving into more complex areas 
• Electronic Prescribing: Next Steps 

The programm is HERE.


Source

http://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/electronic-prescribing-in-hospitals

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and good health to all!

2012, which soon comes to an end, fills us with memories of a period of hardship due to the financial crisis and its consequences, but also of a year full of new projects and new partnerships offering an optimistic view for the future.

We are looking forward to a new productive year, wishing you all Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a happy, peaceful and creative 2013!