Health Professionals, it is time to upgrade your (e)Skills!

The European Commission and the Member States should take steps to ensure that eHealth is part of the curricula of healthcare professionals, notably making use of the new possibilities provided by the updated Directive 2005/36 on regulated professions.

This is one of the key recommendations made by the eHealth Stakeholder Group, a European Commission advisory body, in its report on eSkills workforce.

According to the group, the healthcare workforce is crucial in the wider deployment of eHealth. First, they are the primary users of eHealth. Plus, they also accompany patients in using appropriately these technologies, providing reassurance. Supporting digital skills of the health workforce is all the more needed in the view of the constant changing nature of healthcare systems and healthcare delivery.

Patients suffering from medicines shortages in all European countries

A new report on medicines shortages experienced in European healthcare systems reveals that over 86% of hospital pharmacists are experiencing difficulties in sourcing medicines with 66% reporting this as a daily or weekly problem. The top affected areas are medicines to fight infection, cancer drugs and anaesthetics.

The report by the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), surveyed the experiences of over 600 hospital pharmacists in 36 European countries, and presents a striking picture of how medicines shortages are affecting the treatment of patients across the continent.

75% of surveyed hospital pharmacists either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement "medicines shortages in my hospital are having a negative impact on patient care". Consequences for patients included delayed or interrupted chemotherapy treatment, unnecessary experience by patients of side effects, heightened clostridium difficile risk and deterioration in patients' conditions.

IHE International News - Connectathons, Education and More

IHE Europe Connectathon 
Luxembourg will host the fifteenth annual IHE-E Connectathon April 20-24, 2015. Last year's event saw over 70 companies test over 100 systems. Companies large and small are invited to test systems this year in all categories of health IT to ensure their interoperability with those of their peers. Registration opens Dec. 1, 2014. Find more information here.

IHE USA Partners with HIMSS and IWG to Simplify Health Data Exchange
IHE USA has announced a strategic partnership with the Interoperability Workgroup (IWG) and HIMSS to streamline connectivity between EHR systems and health information exchanges (HIEs) by providing detailed specifications and testing processes to ensure connectivity. The group will announce the opening of a new testing and certification program at the IHE North American Connectathon Conference 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio Learn more here.